


Souji and Yosuke Get a Kitten

by InkstainedGwyn



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Fluffy, M/M, SO FLUFFY, a few steamy moments, because who doesn't love souyo and a kitten, just some fluff, souyo and a kitten, this will be ongoing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 10:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10851774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkstainedGwyn/pseuds/InkstainedGwyn
Summary: Souji and Yosuke are young adults living together in Tokyo - and of course they're going to get a kitten, because why wouldn't they?





	1. Introducing Vasha

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a little fluffy scene about Souji and Yosuke getting their first kitten (Vasha, who you might have seen in some of the other stories, like [this one](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8099998/chapters/18561697) and [this one](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8216243/chapters/18829673)) and it's turning into more. So, have a series of vignettes with Souyo and a kitten!
> 
> Here's my [tumblr](ohlookashinysquirrel.tumblr.com), so feel free to poke me!

“Nyyyyaaaaa!”

As Yosuke looked down at the small, shivering bundle tucked into his half-zipped jacket, he realised that he was in trouble. Not because his shirt was absolutely _soaked_ and Souji had just done laundry the night before, and not because she (at least, he thought she was, well, a she) had snagged his uniform pants with a claw when he was pulling her out of the gutter, and he was going to have to hope that it didn’t turn into a hole. Nor was it because he’d forgotten to pick up the miso and paper towels his boyfriend had reminded him via text - twice - to bring home. 

No, Yosuke was in trouble because, since day one - since they’d _moved_ to Tokyo, since they’d gotten out of the dorms, since they’d gotten their own place and were slowly saving up to find a better one - he’d been adamant that they _would not get any pets_. Not yet. It wasn’t because he didn’t like cats (it would be a cat, there’s no way they’d _ever_ get a pet that wasn’t a cat, not with his boyfriend being Souji Seta, cat-lover extraordinaire, the boy who could sense a cat from six blocks away _in the dark_ ). It wasn’t because he was always a _little_ bit jealous at the fact that cats made Souji’s face light up in the way that they did. (He was, of course, oblivious to the smile that lit Souji’s face each time he looked at _Yosuke_ \- but then, it was mutual, so his ignorance could be forgiven.)

It was because pets were a legitimate responsibility, and two college kids - now one college kid (Souji was in law school) and one _very_ junior Junes shift manager - could _not_ guarantee that they’d be able to take care of an animal should an emergency arise. Food wasn’t the problem, nor was the litter box - Souji was tidy, had always been tidy (Yosuke had no idea how he managed to put up with the brunette’s clothes whirlwind every evening). The problem was potential vet bills. _What if the fuzzball got sick? What if it ate something it shouldn’t? What if it fell out of a window?_ He didn’t care what they said about cats landing on their feet - anything falling from a tenth-story window would be in serious trouble.

_Still._ He looked down at the cat (kitten? She was really small, and he really didn’t know enough about cats to be able to tell); she was curled up against his side, and he could feel how warm she was - _warmer than she was in the gutter, at least, which is good_ \- and he could feel her purring, and… _Well. I did just get a raise, and Souj did just get confirmation that his scholarship will last through the end of school. We’ve got some money tucked away._ While thoughts of a nice beach vacation with Souji flitted through his head (he still wasn’t ready for the word _honeymoon_ , but it was certainly in the back of his mind) he looked back down at his new, black-and-white friend. Her eyes were closed, and he could actually see her whole body shaking with the force of her purrs.

_She should probably eat something. And she needs to see a vet… but what am I going to tell Souji?_ After all, they’d _just_ had a conversation, not two weeks ago, where Yosuke had put his foot down yet again, and Souji had sighed and nodded and agreed that even if it sucked, Yosuke was right. And yet, here he was. With a kitten.

_I guess I could take her to a shelter?_ The thought was not a comforting one - you couldn’t be dating Souji (or have been dating Souji for six years now) without knowing that shelters weren’t the best places for animals, not in Tokyo, especially not for half-starved kittens.

_I don’t know if I can find a no-kill shelter around here, and even if I did, the chance that they’d have space is almost nonex-_

“ **Yosuke!** ” The shout pulled him out of his reverie - the kitten was oblivious, between the sound of the rain and the cars rushing by - and he realised with a start that it was at least two hours after the end of his shift, and other than stopping at the store, Yosuke was never one to get home late. He was saved from wondering whether Souji had noticed his lateness by his boyfriend’s pounding footsteps as the silver-haired young man came running towards him, umbrella in hand, rain-drenched hair plastered to his forehead (the bowl cut had morphed into something sexier and messier, but was still short). He was wearing his study clothes, but the brunette barely had a chance for this to register before Souji was in front of him, arms thrown hastily around Yosuke’s shoulders to pull him into a tight, trembling hug.

“Partner! What happened, are you okay?”

The quiver in his boyfriend’s voice made Yosuke close his eyes, tightening his hands on the back of Souji’s shirt. While he wouldn’t say exactly that Souji was a _worrier_ , everyone still remembered that fateful November back in high school, and nobody remembered it more than Souji. A pang of guilt struck the brunette’s heart.

_I should have texted him. Who cares if he teases me about having said no two weeks ago?_ A beach vacation suddenly didn’t seem nearly as attractive as the thought of Souji sitting on their new ( _actually it was used, but it was like new, and had been a great deal_ ) couch, smiling down at a purring, black-and-white fluffball as it lay in his lap. With Yosuke snuggled up against the silver-haired young man’s side, of course.

He looked up, shaking his head as he opened his mouth to explain, but before he could get the words out the kitten - who, to be fair, was currently squished between Souji’s bony hip and Yosuke’s not-particularly-robust stomach - squirmed and let out another loud “Nyyaaa!”

The look of confusion on Souji’s face almost made up for the last hour-and-a-half of uncertainty the brunette had gone through. As his boyfriend looked down - and then around - to see where the sound had come from, Yosuke gave a sheepish grin and unzipped his jacket. He had to admit, the look of sheer _amazement_ that crossed Souji’s face at the moment that the kitten’s head popped up was pretty great; it only strengthened his resolve as he reached into his coat to lift her out, placing her into Souji’s (still confused, but also delighted) arms.

“I know I said we’d get one some day, so… I guess this is ‘some day’.”

“How- what- but where- but… I thought… last week-” Souji couldn’t tear his eyes away from the kitten (who immediately buried her face in the crook of his arm, and Yosuke was pretty sure the whole block could hear her purring) and with a wry smile, Yosuke tried to dust the cat hair out of the lining of his jacket with an absent minded realisation that _this was his life now. Cat hair. Everywhere._

“Ehhhh, well… I was on my way home from work, and I heard her crying in the gutter… and it’s been raining pretty hard, and she really looks like she needs to eat, and I know that shelters around here aren’t really that great, and I just got that raise, and we’ve got some money saved up, and we were lucky enough to get into an apartment that allows pets, and-” Realising belatedly that Souji was probably the _last_ person who needed convincing, Yosuke bit his lip, trailing off.

At this, Souji finally did look up, and the brunette was struck speechless by the relieved expression on his face. “As long as you’re okay, although we’ll need to get you home and into the bath, you’re so wet.” A pause, and then his voice softened into the gentle tone that always made Yosuke’s toes curl. “Trust my partner to come to the rescue like that. I’m sure she’s grateful - I know I am. But are you sure-?”

“I’m sure.” The feeling of pride that swept over him at Souji’s words - he’d _always_ gone goofy every time his partner (especially back when he’d been the team’s Leader) had praised him - made him straighten up, squaring his shoulders. “I’m off work tomorrow, so let’s take her to the vet. Didn’t you say there was one nearby that had discounts for folks who adopted strays?”

“Mhm.” Souji carefully adjusted the purring bundle in his arms so that he could wrap his spare arm around Yosuke’s waist, having already handed the brunette the umbrella. “We’ll get Vasha checked out, get her shots, see when we can get her fixed.” It was a bit crowded under the umbrella, with two men and a kitten, but they were all three relatively slim and Yosuke _really_ didn’t mind his boyfriend’s arm around his waist, or head on his shoulder - especially not with the happy tone in Souji’s voice, or the possessive way he slipped his hand into Yosuke’s hip pocket (ostensibly to hold on and keep them from being separated.)

No, a happy, grateful Souji was an affectionate Souji (even more so than usual) and while that hadn’t been a deciding factor in keeping the kitten, well… _I’m certainly not going to complain_.

It was as he thought this that his boyfriend’s words struck him, and he looked up. “Wait, what? Vasha? You already named her?”

Souji had the grace to blush at this, looking away for a moment. “Er, yeah. I kinda picked out the name a while back, when you first told me we could get one some day, and-”

Yosuke couldn’t help laughing. “Oh, man, you are _such_ a cat nerd, partner.” The look he gave Souji, however, was one of unabashed fondness, and Souji - still blushing - wrinkled his nose at the brunette in the way that Yosuke adored (and would never have admitted out loud, keeping the fact back in his mind next to the word _honeymoon_ , which was getting more and more impatient.)

“I love you, too, partner.” Souji’s words were warm, and they made Yosuke’s shoulders prickle in that happy, happy way, and the brunette chuckled as he steered them down a side street with a 24-hour store where they could pick up a few odds-and-ends to tide Vasha over for the night until they could get to a real pet store the next day.

It wasn’t until brunette and kitten were both bathed (and the kitten was curled up on Souji’s lap and the brunette was curled up against Souji’s side) that Yosuke remembered the miso and paper towels he’d never picked up. Souji just smiled, however - the fingers lightly stroking the brunette’s neck never stopped, nor did the hand that was petting the kitten in his lap - and said that Yosuke had an excuse, after all, and they could always pick them up tomorrow with the cat food.

It was, all-in-all, a good night.


	2. Baths and Thunderstorms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another vignette in the saga of Souyo and Vasha.

“ _Ow!_ Dammit cat, don’t- _enough with the claws, argh!_ ”

There was a massive splash - too sudden to give Yosuke time to react - which cleared to reveal a disproportionately small kitten, clinging balefully to the side of the bathtub. Looking down at his drenched outfit, the brunette sighed. 

“Maaaan, cat… I know you don’t like me, but whatever happened to gratitude? I’m the one who pulled you out of the gutter, you know!” As he said this, a chuckle sounded behind him, and he turned to see Souji standing in the bathroom doorway.

“I don’t think she’s forgotten, Yosuke.” The silver-haired young man smiled as he walked into the room and knelt in front of the bathtub, next to the brunette. He lifted the now-docile kitten up, reaching for the bottle of pet shampoo that was sitting next to the tub. “I don’t think she dislikes you, either.”

“Says you, the cat whisperer,” Yosuke groused, watching his boyfriend deftly bathe the kitten. “She hates me, I know it. I can’t even _wash_ her. The only thing she thinks I’m good for is opening cat food cans.”

“Nah, that’s not true. Right, Vasha?” Rinsing the small, black-and-white kitten off, Souji picked a towel up and gave her a vigorous rubbing-down before putting her onto the floor. She staggered once or twice, trying to regain her balance, shook herself - which managed to splash both young men - gave a plaintive mew, and ran out of the bathroom so quickly that they could hear her skid on the hallway rug. Yosuke sighed.

“I can’t even get our cat to like me,” he grumbled. Next to him, Souji just chuckled again.

“I’m telling you, she likes you just fine. I’ve just lived with cats for a lot longer, and I know how to read them,  you know?” Standing up, he offered a hand to help the brunette up; once Yosuke was on his feet, however, Souji didn’t let go. “Hmmm, she really drenched you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. At least I wore something that needs washing, anyway.” Looking down at himself, the brunette’s shoulders slumped as he saw just how soaked he _was_. At least they had a full, all-in-one bathroom that they weren’t going to need to clean; it was a lot nicer than their last apartment, which only had a small, separate bath and shower. “I’ll go change, I guess, and dry off-” He started to pull away, but Souji wouldn’t let go of his hand. Looking up, Yosuke couldn’t help smiling at the look on his partner’s face.

“Mmmm, I’ve got a better idea. That’s a lot of water, and you seem kinda chilly. How about we get you warmed up, first?”

Souji was already leaning in, his lips curved in that sexy smile that Yosuke had always loved, and the brunette smirked. “With a warm shower, you mean?”

“For starters, at the very least.” Wrapping an arm around Yosuke’s waist, Souji pulled him into a deep kiss, sliding his other hand up under the brunette’s wet shirt, splaying his fingers against Yosuke’s back. The brunette shivered - both because Souji was _very_ warm and in comparison Yosuke was _very_ cold, and because his boyfriend’s touch sent sparks through him, every time. Sliding a hand up, Yosuke tangled his fingers in the messy silver hair as their hips bumped gently together.

“What about your paper?” he murmured between increasingly breathless kisses. His shirt was already halfway off one shoulder, and he was making short work of the buttons on Souji’s sweater.

“Done, proofed, and submitted. The rest of the weekend is ours.” The words were punctuated by sharp, burning kisses along Yosuke’s collarbone, and the brunette knew he was going to have to wear his turtleneck to work on Monday.

_At least it’s the right season._ Yosuke chuckled, remembering their first makeout session, years before, under the Dojimas’ kotatsu, when Souji had been wearing the only turtleneck he’d owned at the time. They’d come a long way since then, but at the same time, nothing had really changed between them - something for which the brunette was grateful every morning when he woke up with Souji buried under the covers next to him, every evening when he came home to see a pair of worn sneakers waiting at the front door, every night when he saw Souji’s gentle smile across the dinner table, or next to him on the couch as they ate pizza and played video games.

“Mmmm. I don’t work until Monday, so we’ll make the most of it.” Closing his eyes, Yosuke pulled Souji in for another kiss; Souji must have been able to read the brunette’s thoughts through his lips, because Yosuke felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist as his boyfriend pulled him even closer.

“I love you, too, partner,” Souji whispered, in the space between them. Yosuke just smiled, pulling him backwards towards the shower.

* * *

A few days later, Yosuke hurried home, umbrella in hand, as a thunderstorm raged overhead. It was one of those weird storms where the rain was minimal, but the cloud activity was heavy; he found himself smiling a little as he thought about Souji’s persona, Izanagi. Wild thunderstorms, where the lightning was mixed with wind, always made him feel a little nostalgic.

_After all, we’re like yin and yang - two sides of the same coin. A red ribbon of fate._

Pushing the door to their apartment open, he was surprised to find himself greeted by a panicking kitten whose hackles were up, and whose voice was raised in a string of terrified, high-pitched mewls. He looked for Souji’s shoes, but they were absent; he remembered the text he’d received, that his boyfriend was going to be home late since he had to stop by the library, and he frowned.

_She might not like me, but I’m not gonna make her stick it out until Souj gets home_.

“Shhh, Vasha, it’s okay.” Shucking out of his wet jacket and shoes and dropping his umbrella into the stand next to the door, Yosuke knelt down and held out his hands; the kitten rushed straight into his arms - much like she had when he’d pulled her out of the gutter - and he couldn’t help smiling a little, running his hand softly over her small, trembling form. Crooking his arm, he held her against his side, mimicking the way she’d been tucked into his jacket that day; carrying her into the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of water with one hand and headed for the living room.

By the time he took a seat, Vasha wasn’t shaking nearly as badly as she had been, and he felt the faint rumblings of a purr starting up - although it hitched and quieted every time a peal of thunder shook the apartment’s walls. She’d pushed herself further into the crook between his arm and body, and her face was buried tightly against his arm.

“Oh, man. It’s funny that you love Souji so much, when Izanagi is a god of lightning, but- well, no matter. He’ll be home, soon, I promise. You can stay here until then, okay?”

It wasn’t too long before he heard a key in the lock, followed by the general sounds of someone pulling off their coat and shoes; Souji came into the living room shortly after and stopped short at the sight of Yosuke, sitting with Vasha on his lap.

“Thunder’s got her scared, eh?”

“Yeah.” Yosuke nodded. “Guess it reminds her of the night we found her. It was storming pretty hard before I left work; I guess she’d been stuck out in it. Poor girl. You should take her now, though. You’re better at this sort of thing than I am.”

“Mmmm.” Frowning a little, Souji took a seat next to Yosuke. “It’s okay, Vasha. We’ve got you.” Reaching out, he put a hand on top of her back; she jerked her head up, but at the sight of Souji she calmed down a little, and her purring got louder. Yosuke felt a hint of regret at this - there was something nice about having her depend on him when she was so scared - but he loosened his arm so that Souji could take the kitten.

His partner wrapped his hands around Vasha, starting to lift her up, but was thwarted when she reached out, hooking her claws in Yosuke’s pants leg. The brunette yelped, and Souji winced, trying to detach her; every time he’d get a paw free she’d clamp it right back down, and as soon as he let go she pushed herself right back into the crook of Yosuke’s arm. Souji chuckled.

“I guess she’s staying put. I _told_ you, Yosuke, she likes you just fine.”

“I… guess so.” For all that the prickles of her claws had brought tears to the brunette’s eyes, he couldn’t help smiling down at the little black-and-white lump on his lap. “I guess it’s alright if she can trust me to protect her from thunderstorms _and_ feed her.”

“Mmnn. I always knew you were a valiant guardian.” Souji slid over so that he was sitting hip-to-hip with Yosuke, and wrapped an arm around the brunette’s shoulders. Yosuke, muttering something about _stupid_ and _cheesy,_ leaned in, and somehow the storm outside didn’t seem so loud anymore. Sure, they’d need to get dinner - and Vasha would start begging to be fed in about half an hour - but for now, they had time to enjoy the storm together.


	3. Just a Head Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More domestic fluff in the saga of Souyo and Vasha.

_bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzz-_

Sticking his hand out of the covers - shivering a bit when he realised just how _cold_ it had gotten - Souji turned off his alarm. He was surprised momentarily to realise that there was still another warm body in the bed next to him, since Yosuke usually worked the earlier morning shifts so that they’d have evenings together, but as he looked over at the splash of copper hair against the pillow he remembered that this was the first day of his boyfriend’s long-awaited two-week vacation. Smiling, the silver-haired young man rubbed his eyes, swinging his feet out of bed.

It was only once his feet hit the floor that he realised that the usual black-and-white lump had not been weighing them down this morning; turning back to Yosuke, he saw that Vasha was curled up on top of the brunette’s side, asleep, and Souji smiled at the sight. 

_Guess she’s taking advantage of his day off, too._ He knew she’d be up and under his feet as soon as she heard the can opener - he was surprised that she wasn’t already begging, but, well-

 _If I could stay in bed longer with Yosuke, I would, too_. A thoughtful expression crossed his face as he shrugged into his housecoat. _Well, class is out until the new year; we’ve got no plans for the day. We’re not going back to Inaba until next week. Mmmm. Maybe I’ll come back to bed after I feed Vasha_.

Souji padded into the kitchen; he dropped a can of kitten food into Vasha’s bowl, but it wasn’t until he had the timer set on the coffeemaker that he realised that Vasha _still_ hadn’t come in to get her breakfast - and that was unheard of. Replacing the coffee carafe, he turned the kitchen light off, poking his head back into the bedroom; the kitten was still curled up on top of Yosuke - who hadn’t moved, either - and Souji frowned. Walking quietly back into the room, he was about to pet Vasha, wondering if maybe she was sick, when Yosuke scrunched his shoulders, groaned, and coughed into his pillow. 

Immediately, Souji’s attention focused on the brunette. “Yosuke?” His voice was soft as he reached out, putting a hand on his boyfriend’s forehead. The brunette rolled over, prying one bleary eye open; Vasha jumped off his side when he did, but she didn’t go far, moving down to the crook behind Yosuke’s knees as she watched the two young men. 

“Ugh.” Yosuke’s voice wasn’t much better than his cough. “Course ‘m sick. ‘S my day off.”

Giving a small, troubled smile, Souji gently nudged the brunette over so that he could sit down next to him on the bed. Vasha gave a small chirp when he did, jumping down and running for the kitchen; the silver-haired young man didn’t pay her much mind as he opened the drawer in the bedside table. Rummaging through the odds and ends - earbuds, pill bottles, breath mints, some expired scratchcards, and a bunch of pens and pencils - he finally found the digital thermometer. Sliding it out of its plastic case, he held it up to reset it using the faint light from the closed blinds. 

“You are pretty hot-”

“-mmm. Why thanks, partn’r.” The brunette tried to wink, but ended up coughing again, and Souji gave him a good-natured poke.

“Ha. Ha ha. I meant that you’ve got a fever, idiot.” The fact that Yosuke felt well enough to joke around took the edge off Souji's uneasiness, and the thermometer reinforced his certainty that it was just a head cold; with any luck it would be the kind that would pass after a day or two, but he wasn’t going to leave it up to luck. Besides, he _liked_ taking care of his boyfriend.

_After all, that’s what partners are for, isn’t it?_

Rubbing the thermometer down with an alcohol wipe, Souji smiled gently at Yosuke, who was watching him with a tired expression that tugged at the silver-haired young man’s heart. “I think it’s just a cold. I know it sucks that it happened on your vacation, but at least you don’t have to call out, right?” He knew that Junes was strict on their attendance policy, and Yosuke had been working hard to get to his next promotion - maybe a little _too_ hard, given how tired he looked. 

At this, the brunette sighed, closing his eyes. “Yeah, guess.” His voice was rough, and Souji reached out to cover Yosuke’s hand with his own; Yosuke tightened his hand around Souji’s, and they sat there for a moment. “Just sucks. Wanted t’ spend some time t’gether. Hope ‘m better b’fore we go back. Don’ wanna get Nanako or Teddie sick.”

“We’ll still spend plenty of time together.” Souji squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “Besides, this gives me a chance to spoil you a bit. You’ve been taking care of me the last couple of weeks with finals, you know?” He frowned. “I hope that wasn’t-”

“Nah.” As always, Yosuke was able to read his mind; shaking his head, he forced himself to smile at his boyfriend. “Was a big kids’ party yest’rday, ‘n I had t’ clean up after ‘em. That’s prob’ly it.” 

“Still. It’s my turn to step up.” Souji leaned over, kissing the brunette’s forehead; he could tell that Yosuke really _was_ sick, because he usually made a face whenever Souji did this (Souji _knew_ the brunette liked it, but was too proud to admit it.) This time, however, Yosuke just smiled a little, closing his eyes, and Souji shook his head. “Sleep, I’ll bring you some tea and medicine.” 

“Mmm, ‘kay. Thanks, Souj.”

Yosuke was already asleep again by the time that Souji made it to the kitchen door and looked back; when he flipped the light switch - with the door half-closed to keep the light from disturbing his boyfriend - he looked down to see Vasha jogging through the kitchen, carrying her favourite stuffed mouse. Bemusedly, the silver-haired young man watched as she trotted into the bedroom, jumped up onto the bed, turned in a circle, and settled right back down on Yosuke’s chest, laying the toy carefully on top of the covers before chirping and settling her head on her paws. Raising an eyebrow, he looked back into the kitchen; her food dish was empty and her water dish was out-of-place - she had a habit of pawing at it to watch the water rings before taking a drink - so he knew she’d eaten her breakfast. 

_And Yosuke thinks she doesn’t like him._

* * *

Souji gently nudged the bedroom door back open, a laden tray heavy in his hands; he’d had to run down to the corner store to pick up some cold medicine, since they were out, and while he was there he’d grabbed some immunity boosters for himself. He’d made tea and miso, opened a pack of rice crackers, and had a cup of coffee and some rolled egg for himself on the tray, as well as some ginger ale and juice.

Vasha had migrated back to the crook behind Yosuke’s knees, and this gave Souji room to nudge the brunette awake, setting the tray to one side before helping his boyfriend sit up, arranging the pillows behind his back. Yosuke downed most of the glass of ginger ale with his medicine while Souji settled himself on the other side of the bed, and the two had breakfast together - although between Vasha’s demanding “Nyaaa!”s and the brunette’s puppy-dog eyes, the silver-haired young man only got a couple of bites of his egg. Still, that was okay. He was glad that Yosuke at least felt well enough to eat solid food, and it wasn’t like Souji ever ate much for breakfast, anyway.

Once they’d finished eating, Yosuke slid back under his covers - he was shivering a bit by this point - while Souji finished his coffee. When the brunette’s head hit the pillow, Vasha climbed back up, settling back down on his knees; Yosuke smiled at this, looking up at Souji.

“She’s not norm’lly this clingy, huh?”

Reaching over to set his empty coffee cup on the tray, which he’d placed in a chair next to the bed, Souji took a second to rearrange the covers so that he could slide back under them, next to his boyfriend. Yosuke almost immediately scooted over, and Souji wrapped his arms around the brunette, noting that he was definitely chilled. _Fever must have broken. Good._ After Yosuke had made himself as comfortable as he could get, Souji placed a soft kiss on the back of his boyfriend’s head. 

“Actually, Vasha hasn’t left your side all morning - she didn’t even go to her food until I’d sat down to take your temperature. I think she knew you were sick before I did.”

“Y’ don’t say. Good girl, Vasha.” Yosuke sounded pleased; slowly pushing one arm out of the covers, he reached down to pet the kitten on his knees. Vasha popped her head up at the first touch of his hand, trilled, and looked back at them, upside-down, before pushing her head into Yosuke’s palm. They could both hear her sleepy chirps, and Souji smiled, tightening his arms around the brunette’s waist.

It only took a few minutes before the change in Yosuke’s breathing told Souji that his boyfriend had fallen asleep; settling back against the pillow, Souji closed his eyes. Vasha arranged herself across their feet; the familiar weight was comforting, as was the warmth of Yosuke’s back against his chest.

_Maybe this isn’t how I expected to spend the day, but it could be a lot worse._

The last thing he heard before he fell asleep was Vasha’s happy purring.


	4. Pet, or Pest?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit steamier (although it's completely PG).

Three days into his two-week vacation, Yosuke’s cold was finally gone. He’d been feeling better for most of the day before, but Souji had insisted he stay in bed for an extra day, and wouldn’t listen no matter how hard the brunette had tried to argue. He’d had a point, after all; it wasn’t going to do anybody any good if they went home to Inaba and Yosuke got sick again.

Still, Yosuke felt bad about the whole thing; the only reason that chores hadn’t piled up and things were progressing toward their trip was because Souji had spent all of the time that he wasn’t taking care of his boyfriend working around the apartment. It really was like him - even back in high school he’d been the reliable guy who always kept the house clean and his teammates fed - but now that he and Yosuke were living together, they’d always split everything. 

It was still early when Yosuke woke up; he’d been in bed so much over the last few days, though, that he had no interest in sleeping in, even if it was his vacation - and to be honest, he was rarely a late riser, anyway. He stared up at the faint strips of light that fanned out across the ceiling, listening to Souji’s quiet breathing, before rolling over to look at his partner.

 _I know it’s selfish as hell, but the worst part of Souji having to pick up the slack for the last few days is that I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him. I know I was sick, but… dammit._ Sighing, he shook his head with a faint smile on his face. _I took this vacation so we could have some real time together. He’s always so busy with class and I’m always working… I_ miss _him, even when I see him every night._ He wouldn’t have traded what they had now for the world, but sometimes he missed high school days when they had hours to kill every day, even when the mystery was at its worst.

As he thought this, Souji rolled over in his sleep to face him, and Yosuke smiled a little. He loved little moments like this when he got to see his boyfriend’s unguarded face - when Souji was awake he almost always looked serious or pensive (although he did have a very nice smile, and never minded using it) but when he was asleep there was always a soft expression that Yosuke only ever saw in their private moments together. He loved the thought that only _he_ got to see Souji like this, that his partner trusted him enough to completely let his guard down. 

Sliding closer, the brunette leaned in to kiss him - that was the absolute _best_ way to wake his boyfriend up, because Souji was slow in the mornings and always woke with a surprised expression that was really _way_ cuter than it had any right to be - but before he could, a furry, black-and-white ninja popped her face up between them.

“ _NYAAA!_ ”

Yosuke was lucky that in the six months they’d had Vasha, they’d both gotten used to her stealth attacks. He jerked back, but didn’t yell - no matter _how_ much he wanted to - and Souji wrinkled his nose and pulled the covers over his face, but he didn’t wake up. Disgruntled because his romantic move had been thwarted, Yosuke made a face at the kitten who sat down in front of him, opening her mouth to scream at him again. Before she could, the brunette grabbed her - gently, of course, because even at his most annoyed, he knew how to treat a kitten - and slid out of bed. 

_“I get it!_ ” he hissed, quietly. “I’ll feed you, but don’t wake Souji!” Sighing, he carried the now-purring bundle into the kitchen, nudging the door closed with his toe. 

Once she was happily scarfing down her wet food, Yosuke leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms. He really wasn’t as annoyed as he’d thought he would be - after all, Vasha had spent almost the entirety of his cold in bed with him. 

“Still. You really know how to be a pest, don’t you? Jeeze, I wonder if this is what having kids is like?” Shaking his head, he groaned a little; while his parents were usually pretty chill, his mom _had_ been known to let little comments drop, usually about _marriage_ and _adoption_ , and… well, kids weren’t something he and Souji had ever talked about. Kids weren’t something either of them had any plans _to_ talk about - not now. They were barely in their mid-twenties! Yosuke was fairly certain that they both felt pretty ambivalent about it - he’d heard Souji talking to Nanako once, saying “it’ll happen if it happens” - but _marriage_ , well… 

Marriage was a whole ‘nother subject. Yosuke had been trying to figure out Souji’s take on the idea for at least a year now; it had started as an idle thought, that it’d be nice one day to put on tuxes and tie the knot, but the more he angled for an (unobtrusive) answer, the more he got half-ideas and non-committed responses from his boyfriend, the more important it seemed to become - and the more anxious it made him feel. It wasn’t that he doubted how Souji felt about him… but was making that final commitment as important to him as it was to Yosuke? The brunette really didn’t _know_.

Shaking his head, he realised he’d been staring at Vasha for enough time for the kitten to finish her food; she was sitting back on the rug in front of the patio door with a self-satisfied expression as she bathed her leg, and the brunette straightened up. _Thoughts like that aren’t important right now. It’s almost Christmas, we’re gonna be seeing our folks soon, and we’ve got half a week together until we leave. And in the end, does it really matter? We’re together, and we always will be._

Slipping back into the bedroom, he was pleased to see that Souji was still asleep, still curled up like a cat under the covers. Smirking, Yosuke climbed carefully back into bed, sliding under the blanket and up behind his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around Souji’s waist as he leaned in to kiss him, first on the cheek, and then on the lips. As expected, the silver-haired young man’s eyes blinked open, a look of confusion on his face; as he saw Yosuke hovering nearby with a smirk, however, the look softened to a sleepy smile and he snuggled into the brunette’s embrace.

“Mmnnnn. Morning, partner.” 

“Morning yourself,” Yosuke murmured as he leaned in again for another kiss. Souji hummed happily at this, rolling onto his back as the brunette climbed over him; reaching up, Souji brushed his long fingers across Yosuke’s cheek before sliding his hand behind his boyfriend’s neck to pull him close. 

“I take it you’re feeling better?” The question was soft, and full of feeling.

Their lips were centimeters apart at this point, and Yosuke’s only answer was a nod as he leaned in, covering Souji’s mouth with his own. He’d just settled his weight, tangling their legs together, when there was a flash out of the corner of his eye; he barely had time to react before a heavy body - _how is she so heavy? She weighs like eight pounds!_ \- landed on the bed, followed by a loud, insistent yell.

“ _NYAAA!_ ”

Even half-expecting it, the sound was loud enough to make him jerk back, and Souji jumped, too. They both stared at the kitten for a second in shock before glancing back at each other; at this their mouths twitched, and both of them broke into laughter at the same time, as Yosuke dropped his forehead to rest against Souji’s shoulder. 

“Morning, Vasha.” Souji chuckled. “I take it you’ve fed her?”

“Yeah, of course.” Yosuke looked back at the kitten, who was staring at them, then shook his head. “Shoo.” He reached out, poking the kitten’s side; she gave a little chirp of annoyance, violently washed the affronted spot for fifteen seconds, glanced back at them, and jumped off the bed. 

Sharing another quiet laugh, Yosuke shifted a little to pull the covers back up over them - his shoulder blade was getting cold - and then smirked back down at his boyfriend. Souji’s laughter ebbed into a sexy smile, and he leaned up to kiss Yosuke again, wrapping his arms back around the brunette’s neck. 

“It’s been a while since we had a day off together like this, hasn’t it?” Souji whispered, as Yosuke moved his lips to his boyfriend’s throat. He loved feeling the pulse beneath the skin, and he was just nodding with a suggestive “mm-hmm” when they heard a massive crash from the living room, complete with the sound of ripping fabric. 

Heart in his throat - mood _completely_ ruined - Yosuke stared down at his boyfriend for a moment; Souji’s wide eyes and anxious expression told him that he was having the same thoughts, and after a string of muffled expletives they both managed to roll out of bed and race out of the room. 

Skidding into the living room - having not even taken the time to put on slippers - Yosuke had a second’s thought of _oh no everything’s ruined_ as he saw the scene before him. Behind him, Souji gave a muffled exclamation of horror, pushing the brunette aside and running forward; as he rounded the end of the couch to survey the scene of the accident, he exhaled heavily in relief, reaching down to lift a very scared, very grubby Vasha out from under the bookcase next to the remains of the terra-cotta pot in which they’d been growing herbs. 

Honestly, Yosuke was just glad to see that she was okay. She buried her face against Souji’s arm while the brunette took a survey of the damages; the dirt and broken pot had made it look worse than it actually was, and once he lifted the torn curtain up, he heaved a sigh of relief. Looking up, he saw a fly buzzing around the now-curtainless window, and pointed.

“She probably saw that, then took a flying leap off her cat tower and tried to climb the curtain.”

Souji nodded, looking down at the kitten in his arms. “But it ripped, and she landed on the herb pot-”

“-and took the side table down with it.” Yosuke sighed. “Man. I’m glad it’s not worse, but… we’ve got a lot of clean-up to do.”

“Yeah.” Souji shook his head, and a look of regret flashed across his face. “I know we were going to laze around this morning-”

“Nah.” Yosuke was annoyed, of course, at losing their interlude, but he knew it couldn’t be helped. Rubbing the back of his head, he shrugged. “We probably needed to get stuff done, anyway.” He knew he sounded a little bitter, but he also knew his boyfriend would understand. “You’re being a pest, though,” he said, poking the little pink nose that peeked out of the crook of Souji’s arm before gently petting the kitten. “All right. I’ll get the broom and a new pot. I might be able to save some of the herbs.”

“And I’ll wash Vasha.” Souji nodded, giving his boyfriend one last glance before carrying the kitten out of the room. 

Yosuke got to work cleaning, and by the time lunch rolled around the casualty list had shortened to the pot and the curtain, because he’d found that the side table leg had just gotten knocked out of its socket and was good as new with the application of a little glue. The new herb pot was in a different window, one that was a lot higher up and harder for kittens to get to, and the kitten in question was sitting in her newly-vacuumed cat tower washing herself meticulously after her bath. Setting a plate with a sandwich and chips in front of the brunette, who was sitting on the couch trying to mend the torn curtain, Souji took a seat next to his boyfriend. 

“Not what we planned for the day, but at least we got some chores done. I needed to do laundry, and you needed to vacuum.” 

“Yeah.” Yosuke sighed. “It’s grocery day today. We can’t get anything perishable, because of the trip, but we can grab a couple of frozen meals, right?”

“Mhm.” Grabbing a notepad and pencil, Souji started to make a list. 

* * *

The afternoon passed in much the same way; there were always chores to be done, it seemed, and the more ahead they could get on their trip preparations, the more time they’d be able to relax afterwards - or so Souji reminded Yosuke. Yosuke, meanwhile, couldn’t help finding himself feeling more and more dejected as the day went on; first he’d been sick, now they had chores, and he was _thiiiiiis_ close to saying ‘fuck it, I’m tired of being an adult.’ The only thing keeping him sane was Souji, who made sure that they were always doing different chores in the same general area so that they could spend time together and talk.

It wasn’t hard for Yosuke to understand why he loved his boyfriend so much.

The brunette was just pulling the now-mended curtain out of the dryer when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He jerked a little in surprise, but turned his head slightly with a smile on his face. “What happened to chores?”

“We’ve done them all.” 

“I have to hang up this curtain.”

“It can wait. The window has blinds.” 

Stifling a grin, Yosuke stuffed the warm bundle back into the dryer as Souji buried his face against the back of his neck, kissing it; the brunette couldn’t help sighing, reaching back to run his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. Souji was usually the first one on top of responsibilities and duties, but sometimes - sometimes a switch flipped and he became as stubborn as Yosuke ever was, and the brunette loved it. As Souji slid a hand up under Yosuke’s shirt, splaying it against the brunette's stomach, Yosuke chuckled. 

“What’s gotten into you, hmmm?” _Not that I’m complaining, not in the least._

“Don’t think I forgot about this morning.” Souji’s lips were warm against the brunette’s ear, and Yosuke couldn’t suppress a groan. Memories of their interrupted interlude floated through his mind’s eye, and it was the work of moments to spin around, twisting out of Souji’s embrace, effectively reversing their positions and pinning his boyfriend against the dryer. Recognition flashed through Souji’s eyes - followed by appreciation - and he narrowed his gaze, smirking as Yosuke placed both hands on the appliance, on either side of the silver-haired young man’s hips, and leaned in for a deep, insistent kiss. 

Dryer led to wall, wall led to the back of the recliner, and from there they made it to the couch. Yosuke was missing his socks and shirt, and Souji’s shirt was hanging open as the brunette - having pinned his unprotesting boyfriend to the couch - sucked at the pulse point in his throat. Souji had just given a long, happy sigh when they both heard an unmistakable chirp; freezing, both young men looked slowly up at the cat tower. 

Vasha was sitting in the cup on top, paw raised as if she’d been in the middle of bathing; she trilled again, looking at them, and Yosuke narrowed his eyes. Man and cat stared at one another for what felt like an eternity; finally, Vasha gave a last chirp, curled up, tucked her paw under her chin, and closed her eyes. They could hear her purring from the couch.

Even as he felt the tension ease out of his shoulders, Yosuke realised just how silly the situation was. Looking back down, he saw that Souji was watching him with an expression of amusement in his eyes. 

“Did you just intimidate our cat?”

“I did nothing of the sort.” Yosuke looked indignant; for a moment they were silent, and then both of them burst into laughter. “She’s being a pest, and I’m tired of being interrupted. Besides, do you think _anybody_ could intimidate a cat? Especially Vasha?” the brunette murmured, moving his lips back to the curve of Souji’s neck. Souji just laughed quietly, following the sound up with a soft moan.

Vasha didn’t bother them again that evening. 


	5. An Inaba Vacation, pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to experiment a bit and try a chapter from Vasha's point of view. The next one may follow suit, as it's part 2.

- _kachunk kachunk kachunk kachunk_ -

Vasha was not happy. She’d been trapped in a tiny mesh prison (the tag said “luxury cat carrier” but she _knew_ better) forever. It didn’t matter what the Tall One ( _Souji_ ) said, that they’d been traveling for about four hours and had two left to go, it had been days, at _least_ a week. And she hated it. Even seated on Souji’s lap - he’d done the only reasonable thing in making sure that she could _at least_ see out of the train window during their long and arduous journey - the whole thing was so stressful that she could barely eat the dried bonito strips that the Loud One ( _Yosuke_ ) gave her. And she knew that they knew how uncomfortable she was; she’d spent the first half-hour telling them so in no uncertain terms. She’d only quit because Souji had begged her to, and whatever else she was, she was a very generous cat. She’d thought that he’d feel remorseful enough to let her out at that point, but he’d mumbled something about “travel laws.” 

Whatever “travel laws” were, she hated them. 

Eventually, she realised that the trip was never going to end; she wasn’t sure why her humans had been exiled to the farthest corners of the earth, but she was _done_ , and she was going to _sleep_. She was surprised she even _could_ sleep - everything was _so_ noisy and Souji’s lap was _barely_ comfortable (to be honest, she preferred Yosuke’s lap, but he was apparently doing the legwork on this journey, fetching food and water any time Souji - or Vasha - needed it. At least he understood that _someone_ needed to wait on her, trapped as she was). 

She was awakened by a sharp jerk and loud noises that reminded her of the night she’d found herself stuck in the gutter; feeling disoriented from being jostled out of sleep, she huddled into the corner of her small cell. Her prison moved and when she looked up she realised that Yosuke was holding her, and he’d peeked into the mesh panel at the front with a concerned expression.

“You doing okay, girl?”

She shouldn’t have been touched by his concern, but having been thinking about that horrendous night in the gutter she decided that she could be gracious; when she gave a small mew, she was gratified to see an expression of relief cross his face.

_It’s not as if I blame them, I blame whoever created this atrocious train, whoever exiled my humans, and those “travel laws.” And I miss my cat tree. And our bed. And my couch._

At least she had her favourite stuffed mouse. Surely they’d bargained long and hard to make sure she was allowed that single comfort.

When they emerged from the train, the first thing that struck her was how _cold_ it was, and she burrowed into the towel that Souji had placed into the carrier before locking her away. Everything smelled so different, so much _cleaner_ that, for a moment, she almost wondered if this exile was a blessing in disguise; when she peered through the only mesh she could reach without leaving the small warmth of her towel, she was surprised to see that everything was white and there were white flakes flying through the air. Above her prison, her humans were talking. 

“It wasn’t supposed to snow until tomorrow. Hold Vasha for a sec, okay?” That was Souji. 

“Huh? Partner… she’s gonna be okay. She’s got a towel, and the mesh is triple-layered. Dojima and Nanako are waiting outside, you know? Don’t take off your damn coat, you’ll catch a cold.” That was Yosuke.

There was a rustle, as if Souji was zipping his coat back up, and he sighed. “Yeah, I guess. Let’s just get her inside, then. I’ve got our bags, you get the carrier.”

“I got it, partner, don’t worry.” A chuckle. “Man, sometimes I think you worry more about Vasha than you do me.”

There was another murmur after this and her view was blocked for a moment as Souji leaned towards Yosuke, followed by a soft noise, but Vasha didn’t really care. _After all, aren’t they_ supposed _to worry more about me? I’m the most important one here._

Really, it was just common sense. 

There weren’t many people leaving the building, and it soon became evident that she was being carried towards two humans standing near a car. One - a girl - was significantly smaller than the other - a man - and when she saw the group approaching, her eyes widened. Vasha braced herself for the inevitable praise - she was used to it, after all, from every vet and pet store visit - but to her surprise, the girl shouted “Big bro! Yosuke-nii!” and went tearing towards Souji, launching herself at him. It startled Vasha so much that she complained loudly, moving as far away from the commotion as possible, pushing herself against Yosuke’s knee. 

_Who does this girl think she is? What’s so important about Souji? I’ve been stuck in this prison for months, everything’s cold, everything’s loud, I’m_ miserable _, and-_

She was about to give in and just tell the world _just_ how annoyed she was when she realised that the girl ( _Nanako_ , Souji called her) had leaned down to look into her prison. Bracing herself for the ridicule, Vasha gave a defiant cry; she was about to follow it up with a hiss for good measure when Nanako put a hand over her mouth.

“Oh my gosh! She’s so cute, big bro! She’s even bigger than in the pictures! You’re so lucky, I love her! Hi, Vasha! How was the trip?”

The sound of admiration in Nanako’s voice mollified Vasha. _At least she has eyes. I’ll forgive her this time; after all, Souji isn’t_ terrible _._

Behind Nanako, the older man gave a gruff chuckle; Vasha’s hackles rose for a moment, but his words were welcome enough that she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, for now.

“Welcome home, boys. Your cat shouldn’t be out in the snow, though. Let’s get home, we can talk more once everybody’s warm; you’ve been in the train for hours.”

In the car, Souji and Yosuke spent most of the time talking with the gruff man ( _Dojima_ ); this left Vasha to entertain Nanako (who, it was clear, was a younger human and likely needed watching.) Despite her initial rowdiness, Vasha found that Nanako was polite and knew exactly where to scratch behind a cat’s ears (Souji had let her open the cell door, just a bit, but to her chagrin Nanako was mindful and wouldn’t let her out. Really, why was everyone so determined to keep her locked up?) Still, the girl’s manners did her credit, and by the time they’d reached the place that Dojima called “home,” Vasha had decided that this exile wasn’t _too_ terrible.

“Home” was nice, too; it wasn’t the apartment, but she had to admit (reluctantly, given that there was no cat tree, no automatic dry food dispenser) that it was actually bigger and a little nicer. It was clean, too; once they were inside Souji put the prison down onto the floor and unzipped it, and she made a dash for the blessed kotatsu that was sitting in the middle of the floor. 

_Something warm oh thank god._

* * *

Vasha spent the rest of the afternoon steadfastly ignoring Souji and Yosuke; truth be told, this place was actually pretty nice considering that they'd been exiled, and her humans had treated her _mostly_ well on the month’s journey here, but still. It was the principle of the thing. Yosuke came looking for her once; he sounded concerned, but Souji had called to him and told him to give her some space, and she wasn’t sure whether to be grateful at being understood, or resentful of being ignored. She was just trying to decide whether she wanted to sulk, test out her claws on the leg of the kotatsu, or go exploring when the covers shifted and she caught a whiff of a most delicious scent. 

Peeking her head out from under the kotatsu, she found Nanako on her knees, a plateful of tuna sitting in front of her. Vasha didn’t even need to ask - it was clear that this was tribute - and she was starving, so she immediately started to eat. After a few moments, she felt a gentle hand glide across her back; the touch was _so_ familiar, like Souji’s, that she looked up for a moment to make sure that it was still Nanako. (After all, Souji had not yet been forgiven.) Once the tuna was finished, she sat down for a moment to wash her paw and think.

 _We’ve been exiled to this place, and if I plan to make it at all a palatable stay, I need to start winning over the natives. Nanako is polite and knows her place; it’s an easy victory to start out my campaign._ Looking up, she saw that the girl was watching her with shining eyes; the expression, once again, reminded Vasha of Souji, and before she realised quite what she was doing, she found herself stepping daintily onto Nanako’s lap. Once she was there, she decided that it was probably her best plan of action, anyway, so she shook herself, yawned (it had to have been a week since she’d last slept, at least, and she was exhausted) and curled up. 

Nanako inhaled, shakily. “Big bro! Vasha likes me!” 

“Of course she does. She’s got good taste.” Souji’s words weren’t exactly right, but Vasha decided to forgive him; the awe and admiration in Nanako’s voice was enough to placate the last of her anger, and she found that this was actually quite a decent place for a nap.

* * *

Eventually, Nanako had to go do whatever it was that humans did when they talked about “chores;” Vasha felt relatively rested after her nap, anyway, and decided that it was time to explore. She spent an hour or so sniffing around the downstairs before heading up; it was easy to tell by the scent which room belonged to which human, even if Souji’s scent was very, very faint, and Yosuke’s was nearly nonexistent. She couldn’t get into the rooms that smelled like Nanako and Dojima - this would change, once she was more familiar in her surroundings - but for now she still had places to explore so she wasn’t going to complain _too_ much. Heading into the room that smelled faintly of Souji, she found her humans’ bags and her detestable prison - but also her mouse, which she dragged out, carrying it under the couch (which was not as nice as the couch in their apartment) for safekeeping.

Vasha prowled around for a time, exploring the dust behind a set of shelves that had some plastic models on them (she eyed them for a moment, wondering what they’d sound like when they fell over, but decided to leave that until she had all of the inmates of the house under her command). She’d just fished a tiny piece of paper folded to look a little like a bird out from under the carpet when she heard footsteps and familiar voices; remembering that she was still ignoring her humans, she hurried back under the couch. 

Souji and Yosuke came in, and she could hear them talking - although it wasn’t about her, so she didn’t pay it any attention. Idly batting her mouse around, it wasn’t until the couch over her head started to creak that she realised they’d sat down; when one of the couch cushions hit the ground, she grabbed her mouse and hopped out of her hiding spot, heading for the folded mattress and blankets sitting neatly in the corner. 

It wasn’t like they were going to notice her, anyway. Looking over, she saw that she was right, and they were doing that weird cuddling thing where they climbed all over each other. Still, it always made them happy - Souji was in the middle of laughing at something Yosuke was saying as Yosuke bumped their foreheads together - and while she might not admit it outright, she liked it better that way. It might be annoying, when she wanted to sit in Yosuke’s lap but she couldn’t because Souji was already there, but these episodes almost always ended up with her getting an extra can of cat food or some high-quality sushi, so she wasn’t going to complain.

 _They’re idiots, but they’re my idiots._ Hiding her mouse under the blanket for safekeeping, she stretched, gave them one last look, and headed back downstairs to look for Nanako.


	6. An Inaba Vacation, pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter from Vasha's pov; we'll be going back to the partners after this.

_That’s it! I’m done! I’m out of here!_

Giving a low whine of complaint, Vasha - who’d just been knocked off the futon _again_ \- picked herself up, staring balefully at her humans. The fact that they were sleeping on the floor at all had come as some surprise; she wasn’t going to judge, however, as she knew from personal experience that sleeping on the floor could be quite comfortable, when done right.

_When done right_. Clearly, no one had ever taught Souji _or_ Yosuke how to sleep on the floor. She’d known before she even settled down that it was going to be another one of _those_ nights, the restless nights where they tossed and turned and rolled around a lot, occasionally kicking her (she knew they were just distracted, but that was _no excuse_ ). At least at _home_ , however, there was still plenty of room on the bed for her to settle down and ignore whatever antics they were getting up to. Here, there was barely room in the futon for the two humans, much less for a cat who _just wanted to sleep_.

Finally, with silent annoyance - she would have told them exactly how she felt, except that she knew that they were in their own world and her complaints would have gone in one ear and out the other - she shook herself. Taking a quick moment to make sure all of her fur was in its proper place, she stalked out of the room and down the hall. She debated heading downstairs for the kotatsu - such a nice one would stay warm for quite some time, even after being turned off - but when she saw the door to Nanako’s room slightly cracked, she changed her mind. 

Nanako - who never woke up, even when Vasha jumped lightly onto her futon - was a much more restful sleeper than the adults, something for which the cat was grateful. Curling up on the girl’s chest, she had a peaceful night, only waking once when Nanako petted her gently, mumbling something about “good kitty” before rolling over.

* * *

Vasha woke early the next morning to the sound of a familiar set of footsteps going down the stairs. It wasn’t surprising that Yosuke would be up so early - he was an early riser at home, usually because he needed to go to work, but even when he was off he always got up before Souji. This was good news, as it meant she’d soon be getting fed, so she stretched, hopped down carefully so as not to wake Nanako, and trotted downstairs.

As she stepped into the main room, she realised that Yosuke wasn’t the only one awake; Dojima was, as well, and she could smell coffee, a scent that made her nose wrinkle - she had _no_ idea why anybody would actually _drink_ that stuff. Souji, especially, added milk to his, and it was the worst waste of milk that she’d ever seen. Still, coffee meant breakfast, and Vasha was feeling hungry, so she headed for the kitchen.

When she walked in, she heard Yosuke talking to Dojima; sitting down, she wrapped her tail around her feet as she waited impatiently for one of them to notice her, or to say something about food. After all, what could be more important than talking about breakfast?”

“-just wondering what you thought about the idea. I’m not exactly asking for _permission_ , I guess, but…”

Vasha tilted her head at this. It was unlike Yosuke to be so serious, and it was worrisome. If he was focused on something, he might not remember to feed her. She couldn’t tell whether Dojima was surprised or amused. Either way, she wished they’d hurry the conversation along. 

“Hah, I gotcha, Hanamura. To be honest, I wouldn’t have expected you to be so formal, anyway. I hafta say, I never asked him about it, so I can’t tell you what I think, other than I know he’s happy right now. All I’m gonna say is that it’s a big step, so just make sure you’re not going to have any regrets.”

_The only thing you should be regretting is your inattention!_ Finally losing her patience, Vasha sat up, demanding in her shrillest voice that Yosuke stop ignoring her. Both humans jumped, but Dojima almost immediately started to laugh, even as Yosuke turned around to give her a rueful look that she was all-too-familiar with. 

“She’s a loud one, isn’t she? Well, Hanamura, sounds like you have something to take care of, and I should be off to the office. Good luck with whatever you decide - you’ve got my support, as long as you’re responsible about it.”

Yosuke, who’d picked Vasha up - after a moment’s hesitation she decided to be magnanimous and forgive him, purring to let him know he was doing a good job - reached for the stack of cat food cans on the counter. “Thanks, Dojima-san. I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

Vasha, for her part, started in on her breakfast immediately.

_Humans take too long to talk._

* * *

“Souji-kun! Yosuke-kun! It’s been too long!” 

“Dudes! I heard you brought a kitten- where is it?”

“Senseiiii! Yosuke!!! Mom wants to make sure you’re still bringing Nana-chan for dinner tomorrow!”

If Vasha thought the day was going to be peaceful, she was sorely mistaken. It was their third day in exile, and she’d expected that it was going to be just as quiet as the day before, when her humans had left for most of the day, having said something about “Junes” and “the Hanamuras.” Instead, they were being invaded on their own turf.

The doorbell kept ringing, and person after person trouped in. Some stayed only a short time, some didn’t even come inside, but there was a core group of people that all seemed to know Souji and Yosuke who stayed around, setting out food, getting drinks, and being all-around nuisances. At one point, she made a break for the kotatsu - she’d wedged herself under the TV stand when the first group came in - and almost got caught by a terrifying guy who was taller even than Souji, and who kept saying something about wanting to pet her. 

It wasn’t until the commotion had been going on for some time that the doorbell rang again and she heard a familiar voice. 

“Soouuuji! Yooosuke! I’m here! I’m sorry I’m late, grandma was making a fresh batch of ganmo and I wanted to bring it hot. I’m so glad we made it back to Inaba at the same time! Where’s Nanako-chan?”

It wasn’t one she knew _very_ well, but at this point, it was any port in a storm, and Souji and Yosuke had been too busy to pay the kitten any mind. As the perky redhead came to sit on the couch, Vasha darted out from under the kotatsu, jumping up next to the girl and hunkering against her leg, pressing her face against the back of the sofa. 

“Man. Why’d she go straight for you, Rise?”

A giggle. “Because I’m cuter than you, Kanji. Besides. I met Vasha before, I’ve been over to the guys’ apartment in the city a few times, you know? Awww, poor girl. Feeling kinda overwhelmed, aren’t you?”

With these words, she started to pet Vasha; her touch wasn’t quite as gentle as Souji or Nanako’s (or Yosuke’s) but it was enough to calm the cat down; once she had, Vasha realised that nobody in the room was actually that frightening. They were loud - but so was Yosuke. 

_And all of the attention is on me. As it should be, of course._

From the kitchen, another familiar voice spoke. “You guys playing with Vasha? She’s an attention hog, all right. But she really loves this stuff.” Yosuke tossed a bag to Kanji, who shook it, and just the sound made Vasha’s ears perk up. 

By the time dinner was over, she’d eaten half the bag of bonito strips, at least a bite of every piece of sashimi on the platter, half of a slice of Souji’s rolled omelette, and various tidbits of beef, pork, and chicken from the other dishes. She’d never felt so fat and happy before - and now, curled up on Kanji’s lap, she couldn’t understand how she’d been afraid of the guy before. The look on his face was one of sheer bliss, and he knew _exactly_ where to scratch, and honestly, Souji might have a run for his money for “best pets.” Yosuke’s lap was still better, but this one certainly did in a pinch. 

* * *

_Are they seriously at it again?_

Vasha had known since they’d found her that Souji and Yosuke were devoted to each other, to the point of being inseparable. They called each other partner, but that was just a human word for pairing off, something that nearly everyone did, human or animal. There were plenty of times that they’d get caught up in each other to the point that they forget all about her, and to tell the truth, it annoyed her - but she was fond enough of them both that it didn’t bother her as much as it should have.

At least, it didn’t _usually_. For some reason, however, they’d been even worse since they’d gotten to this new place, especially when they were in their room. More than once, Vasha had been trying to sleep on the couch (or on top of the desk, or under the table, but most often on the couch) when they’d come in, hands already all over each other, and take over her comfortable sleeping space with no thoughts whatsoever as to whether it was currently occupied.

One afternoon, about a week after their long trip, Vasha was feeling particularly spiteful. She’d been having trouble sleeping - the people from the party had been coming over more often, and they were always so _loud_ , and even if she appreciated how much they were willing to play with her, Souji usually kept them from feeding her too many treats. She’d wanted to take a nap with Nanako - always so much calmer than her humans were - but the girl had abandoned Vasha, saying something about a “girls’ day out with Rise-chan and the others”. Vasha headed for the upstairs couch, but she hadn’t been asleep for more than a few minutes before the door flew open and Souji and Yosuke came in; they were so focused on each other that they didn’t even realise she was on the couch when they dropped onto it. Hissing, she fled under the desk. 

“Mnnn… _Yosuke_... we haven’t really had the house to ourselves at all for this whole visit, have we?”

“Hah… _mmm_. Nah, but… it’s okay, right? We only… mmnn, _Souji_... get to see folks for a little bit every year, and I know Nanako missed you, “big bro.”

Souji gave a low chuckle, which annoyed Vasha even more. _How dare they be so amused when I’m so annoyed?_ “Don’t call me big bro. Sounds weird… coming from my partner… _mmm_ … but doesn’t this remind you of the old days?”

“Now that you… _haah_ , mnn… mention it…” There was a long silence, and Vasha had finally hoped that they’d settled down enough to let her go to sleep, but no such luck. “Having to sneak around again… ‘salmost exciting, you know? Just like back then, we couldn’t let Nanako hear us, didn’t want to... mmnnn… _partner_ … get caught by Dojima…” 

“Yeah.” Another low chuckle. “Miss our bed, though. It’ll be nice going back in a few days.”

_Going back? What?!_ Vasha missed Yosuke’s response as she boggled over this information. _We’re not staying here?_ The first rush of relief - she really _did_ miss the apartment, even as nice as this house was - was quickly replaced by a feeling of dread. _Not another trip!_

She was just glaring at the mesh prison - _I’d wondered why they kept it, it’s because they’re going to put me through that torture again!_ \- when there was a sudden shift on top of the couch and a pair of the cushions fell off, bouncing across the floor almost to where she was hiding. 

_Enough!_ Making an aggravated noise, she jumped onto the couch - claws out for good measure - and went tearing across it, eliciting yelps of surprise and annoyance from her humans before hissing, leaping off, and tearing back downstairs.

_They never ask my permission for_ anything!

* * *

Vasha sulked through the rest of the afternoon, and even though Nanako was extra-attentive to her the next day, the kitten’s heart really wasn’t into it. After dinner, she was sitting on the young girl’s lap - Souji and Yosuke were absolutely _personae non gratae_ now - when Nanako looked up.

“Big bro? I think Vasha’s feeling bad.”

_Of course I’m not. I’m_ irritated _._

“Hmmm, I’d noticed that she was acting less lively.” The silver-haired man came over, crouching down next to them; Vasha considered hissing at him, but decided against it, for manners’ sake, and also because she didn’t want to startle Nanako. Souji petted her a few times, looking into her eyes and opening her mouth - at which point she did growl at him, jerking away - and he shook his head. “I don’t think she’s sick. She’s probably just going to miss you, Nanako.”

“Really? You think? Awww, Vasha! I’m gonna miss you, too! I’ll come visit you, I promise! And big bro can bring you every time he and Yosuke-nii come back!”

_I am_ not _going to miss you! As if, the nerve!_ She debated jumping down off Nanako’s lap, but… the kotatsu really was nice and warm, and… she just didn’t feel like it. _But really! Why would anyone think I’d miss this place? I just don’t want to deal with that trip again!_

Still, the thought of Nanako at their apartment, sitting at the kotatsu, feeding Vasha tuna or playing with one of her many toys ( _just wait until she sees how many toys I have! She’ll be amazed!_ ) wasn’t terrible. In fact, it was kind of nice.

It wasn’t going to make up for the trip, but… it was something to look forward to.


	7. Sleepy Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one's more about the partners than about Vasha - in the end, it's all really just a chance to write Souyo fluff.
> 
> It's a tad bit steamy, but then again, that's not a surprise, either.

_**mroooooow-eh** _

Souji frowned, looking down at the unhappy kitten as she lay, stretched-out, on the floor in the corner of the living room. Vasha had finally gotten old enough to be fixed, and since Souji was on spring vacation, they’d gone ahead and gotten it done the weekend before. She’d been out of it for the first twenty-four hours; now, two days later, she seemed to be in a lot less pain, but she was still in the middle of her recovery period, and she wasn’t even yet at the “annoyed at being cooped up” point yet. 

Not that they hadn’t done everything they could to take care of her. Borrowing a baby fence from Yosuke’s cousin, who lived in the city and had a five-year-old son, they’d blocked off a good third of the living room, including part of the couch, the balcony door, and a good amount of tiled floor so that she’d have something cool to lay on. She had a new bed, low-to-the-floor, new food and water dishes, and even a new litter box that was easier for her to get in and out of. 

Unfortunately, Vasha _was_ at the “nothing makes me happy” stage. She was still at a point where the vet had said they should be keeping a general eye on her; even though they no longer had to watch her every moment, provided she was in a safe space, Souji still spent a good deal of his free time sitting on the floor, against the couch, inside the fence. It seemed like it made her happier. Yosuke teased him about it, but the brunette did the same thing when _he_ was home, too. Souji had even spent the last two nights on the couch, but as everything had been peaceful, he was going to try sleeping upstairs in their bedroom that night.

He had to admit, it was lonely sleeping without Yosuke.

Souji was just closing the book he’d been reading when the door opened and Yosuke came in; the brunette’s cheerful “I’m home, partner!” sounded tired, and Souji winced a little. He knew he was feeling antsy and worn down from being stuck in the apartment for three days, dealing with spring cleaning and an irritable kitten, but he knew that it was nothing compared to what Yosuke had been through, having had to run inventory for two days straight. He no longer had to work night shifts, but he’d been putting in time-and-a-half for the last two days, and Souji could only imagine that it was wearing on him.

Yosuke came into the living room just as Souji climbed over the baby gate; they exchanged a kiss that perhaps lingered a little longer than usual (Souji was apparently not the only one who disliked sleeping alone) and as Souji adjusted the fence, the brunette flopped down onto the couch, laughing. 

“Man. It’s almost like having a kid. Can you _imagine?_ ” 

Souji - who didn’t _hate_ the idea of having children but certainly wasn’t interested in it any time soon - chuckled a little, sitting down next to him. “No, not really. A cat’s enough responsibility for now.”

“Mmhmm.” Kicking his feet up, Yosuke gave Souji a sideways look. “Things are nice right now, right? No kids, no ball-and-chain. Just partners, pure and simple.”

 _Ouch_. Souji had to take a second not to wince at the ball-and-chain comment. Over the last year or so, Yosuke’d been making more and more comments like this, as if gauging his boyfriend’s reaction. It seemed pretty clear that he was against marriage - maybe it was a leftover from his days of insecurity, maybe it was just the fact that they were still young; Souji didn’t know. It wasn’t like Souji _doubted_ Yosuke’s feelings - the brunette was affectionate and open, and they were still as devoted to each other as they’d ever been. They still went nearly everywhere together, and there was never a time in which anything felt off - and besides, Souji trusted Yosuke implicitly. They’d been through too much together to ever do anything to knowingly hurt the other. 

The problem was that the longer they were together, the more _Souji_ wanted to get married. He _knew_ it was just a word, he knew it was just a piece of paper - but it was also a promise, and it was one that he wanted to exchange with Yosuke _so_ much. He loved Yosuke with every piece of his heart, and he would _love_ to put a ring on the brunette’s finger one day and call him “husband.” But with Yosuke being so against it… Souji wasn’t even willing to bring it up. He didn’t think that suggesting such a thing would _damage_ their relationship - they’d been through _way_ too much for that - but it would probably strain things, and that was something that he didn’t want.

He was just pushing the thoughts of seeing Yosuke in a formal tux into the back of his mind when the brunette leaned over, a worried expression on his face.

“Souji? What’s up, partner? You seem out of it.”

 _Shit._ “Nothing.” He gave Yosuke a heartfelt smile; no matter how wistful he might get, he was still _very_ happy with the way things currently were. “I was just thinking about some stuff that we probably need to grab soon from the store. You just got back, though, so-”

“Well.” Yosuke flashed him an understanding smile, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “I need a shower, and somebody need to keep an eye on princess here, so why don’t you run down to the corner market? It’s not too far, and I’ll bet you could use the fresh air. Plus, you can pick up dinner. I doubt either of us wants to cook tonight.”

 _It’s true, I haven’t been out of the apartment since we brought Vasha back from the vet. And I could get something nice, since Yosuke’s been running ragged these last few days. Maybe even a tidbit for Vasha, since she can eat regular food now, and she hasn’t had any fish in a week or two._ Bonito strips were off limits, but she’d never been known to say no to a nice piece of fatty tuna.

Watching the brunette climb into the fenced area to check on - and subsequently pet - Vasha, Souji gave his partner a smile. “Sounds good. I won’t be gone for more than about half an hour, though.”

“All right. And I’ll text you if I remember anything we need to pick up.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be back soon, partner.”

“Mmm. I look forward to it.”

* * *

The earlier thoughts about marriage only dampened Souji’s spirits a little, and once he was out of the apartment building he found that fresh air - even Tokyo’s “fresh” - was enough to make him feel better. Their local grocery store was nearby - the Junes that Yosuke managed was a department store and didn’t sell any food other than pre-packaged gifts and snacks - and Souji took his time prowling the aisles, making sure to grab the miso and paper towels he’d originally come for.

He toyed with the idea of cooking, but Yosuke had mentioned buying dinner, and he had to admit that the idea was tempting - he was still feeling a bit run-down from the spring cleaning he’d been doing, on top of taking care of Vasha, and with Yosuke being so tired they’d probably both end up heading to bed soon. Buying dinner would give them a little bit of downtime to spend together, and that thought was enough to convince him. He poked through the pre-made dinner sections, but didn’t find anything that really caught his eye; the store had a very good sushi department, however, and after taking a minute to go over their budget in his head, he decided that they had more than enough for a little treat.

Grabbing a deluxe tray - making sure that it had plenty of scallop and salmon - and a tray of egg and tuna, he headed for the bakery to grab one of Yosuke’s favourite orange cream roll cakes. Somehow along the line, this had turned from “a quick dinner” to “a special dinner for Yosuke;” his final stop was the back wall, where he picked out a bottle of the couple’s favourite shochu. 

He’d just finished checking out when his phone buzzed; stepping to the side to make sure he didn’t need to grab anything extra before leaving, he raised an eyebrow at the message. 

> _need ur help ^stairs when u get back_

_I wonder what he’s up to?_ To be fair, Souji _had_ been spring cleaning, and he’d just put some stuff in the attic that morning, so there was a chance that he’d put something away that he shouldn't - or forgotten to put something away that he should. Shrugging, he grabbed his bags and headed home.

* * *

Once Souji was inside, he checked quickly on Vasha - who was still sleeping in the same spot - and then slid the miso, sushi, and shochu into the fridge. Heading upstairs, he’d just called Yosuke’s name, meaning to ask what his partner needed, when he pushed the door to the bedroom open and stopped, blinking. 

_What the-?_

The bedroom light was on dim, and there were a handful of candles - scented tealights that they’d bought because they both enjoyed the smell of pine and lavender - flickering on the dresser, the shelf over the bed, and the bedside table. The bed - which Souji had made that morning - was turned down, and Yosuke was sitting on the edge with a smirk and an expression of pride on his face. It didn’t take Souji long to notice that he was wearing the pair of red pants that the silver-haired young man loved so much, either. 

“Yosuke, what’s going on?” 

Standing up, Yosuke reached out and pulled Souji into the room, closing the door behind him. He had a familiar bottle in his hand - some aromatherapy massage oil Kanji had given them at Christmas, meant to ease stress and headaches - and as Souji raised an eyebrow, the brunette’s smirk melted into a smile.

“You’ve been stuck at home all week, putting up with a cranky cat, doing the chores, doing the spring cleaning, even sleeping on the couch. This is just my way of saying thanks, and that I love you. Besides, I missed you, these last couple of nights.”

 _God, I love him so much, but he looks so worn out._ Inhaling softly, Souji pressed their foreheads together before touching the brunette’s cheek. “Yosuke… I love it, you know? And I love you. But you’re even more tired than I am, you’ve been doing inventory for the last two days - _I_ should be the one doing this for _you_.”

Chuckling quietly, Yosuke gave him a wink. “Well, if you really want, we can take turns - but that’ll probably delay dinner for another hour, you know.”

 _And that’s what the fridge is for. Sushi or Yosuke? There isn’t a question_. Grinning, Souji slid his hand into his boyfriend’s hair. “I can handle that.”

“Mmm, it’s a deal.” Sliding his arms around Souji’s waist, Yosuke pulled his partner close, starting off with a warm, languid kiss; while things could sometimes be frantic between them, they were both feeling slow and sleepy enough to be more interested in cuddles and kisses this time around. After a time, Souji found himself lying face-down on the bed, wearing only his boxers; as he felt Yosuke’s familiar weight settle on the backs of his legs - and smelled the relaxing scent of lavender - he exhaled, finally allowing himself to unwind. Even though it was still early enough spring to be chilly, Yosuke had turned on the space heater, and it was _perfect_. 

Yosuke had just leaned over to kiss Souji’s shoulder blade when they heard a loud, irritated yowl from downstairs; they both jumped, turning to look at each other, but before Souji could climb out of bed, Yosuke put a hand gently on his back, pushing him down. 

“I’ve got it. You stay here and relax. She’s probably just wanting some attention. I fed her already, but I’ll go make sure everything’s okay.”

There was a note in the brunette’s voice that Souji was all-too familiar with that said he wasn’t going to listen to any arguments, so the silver-haired young man just settled back down onto the bed, face against his crossed arms, to wait. He listened to Yosuke’s familiar footsteps heading down the stairs, then the far-off hum of the brunette’s voice as he talked soothingly to Vasha, and then he must have drifted off, because he found himself waking up to the light touch of Yosuke’s hands, gliding down Souji's back as he worked out the knots and kinks. 

_Ugh, this feels good_. 

When Souji turned his head, the brunette chuckled. “Vasha’s fine, by the way. I cleaned out her water and sat with her for a bit until she fell back asleep. Kind of like you. You can go back to sleep, you know.”

“Mmnn. As if.” Souji stretched for a second, feeling his shoulder pop, relieving an ache he’d had all week. “As if I’m going to sleep through something like this. No sir, this is an experience to be treasured.” 

“Dork.” The brunette gave a low chuckle, and as his hands drifted lower and lower, Souji rolled over. Yosuke gave a token complaint, but there was a glint in his eye and a smile on his lips that said he’d been expecting it as Souji reached up, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck to pull him in for a slow, sweet kiss. 

As Yosuke joined him on the bed, Souji found his mind drifting, for a moment, back to the thoughts he’d had earlier that afternoon. 

_Yeah, getting married would be nice - but in the end, it’s just window dressing. I have what’s really important, and I’m never going to let it go._


	8. Paint and Propositions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cats always have to help with home improvements, right? Vasha gets a little more than she bargained for, and Yosuke gets so exhausted that he can't keep a lid on his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't the end, but I also couldn't hold off any longer <3

“Hey, partner. Hand me that, will you?”

Yosuke looked up from the stretch of counter he was scrubbing to see Souji, who was standing on a step stool next to the fridge, pointing at the roll of blue painter’s tape sitting on the stove. Grabbing it, the brunette held it up. “‘That’ has a name, you know. Tape. A lot easier than pointing, when all’s said and done.” He made a tossing motion, and Souji put out his hands at the same time that he pulled a face.

“I know, _smartass_. The word escaped me for a second. And it’s not like you had any trouble figuring out what I meant.” He deftly caught the roll when Yosuke tossed it - it was a good catch, but then Yosuke also knew it’d been a good throw. Of course it was, he’d thrown it. He grinned. 

“Yeah, well. It’s not like I’m going to pass up a chance to tease you, Mr. Always-Great-With-Words.”

Standing on tiptoes to press tape along the top of the doorframe, Souji rolled his eyes. “If you think I’m always great with words, you’ve clearly forgotten the time I confessed to you. Which is probably a good thing.”

“Are you kidding me? Hell no, I’d never forget that! Man. Every girl in school brought you chocolates, it seemed like - and there you were, waiting for me on the roof, handmade chocolates-”

“Gah! Don’t remind me!” Souji looked mortified and Yosuke dropped it, although he smiled to himself. It was probably one of the most precious memories he had; Souji had made him chocolates, had called him up to the roof, and his face had been so red when he’d confessed that Yosuke had been a little worried that he was going to pass out. He’d tripped over his words, stuttered more than the brunette could imagine was possible, and had actually dropped the box of chocolates when their hands touched as he handed it to Yosuke. And then Yosuke - who really couldn’t judge, given that Souji had at least been able to get _words_ out and all Yosuke could do was gape at the amazing guy who he’d been in love with and who was somehow _confessing_ to him - Yosuke finally gave up on trying to speak at all, wrapped an arm around Souji’s waist, and pulled him into a kiss. Their first kiss, but most certainly not their last. It was an amazing memory.

Looking up, he saw that Souji had just finished taping the doorframe, his face still a little red. He climbed down from the step stool to look around, and when his eyes met Yosuke’s, they exchanged a soft smile; the brunette knew that even if Souji was embarrassed about the whole memory, it was still a good one for him. 

“How’s the counter coming, Yosuke? We about ready to paint?”

“Yep.” Yosuke had just finished wiping down the last stretch of counter space - they’d already been taped off, and the appliances had been moved away from the walls - and he stepped back, tossing the sponge into the sink to be washed later. “Ready whenever you are, partner.”

It was Golden Week, and with Souji having the week off school, Yosuke had taken the time off work - it was easier when you were a manager, although he still had to be on call in case anything terrible actually happened - and they’d decided to do some spring cleaning. They kept the apartment tidy, for the most part, but there were always improvements to be made. They’d spent the first day moving the heavier furniture, dusting and cleaning all of the places nobody could usually get to (and finding a whole treasure trove of Vasha’s toys, for which the kitten was grateful for about five minutes until she’d lost nearly every piece back into the abyss). 

Now, they were painting the kitchen. They’d only been in the apartment for a year and a half, but the kitchen had already suffered some wear; Souji cooked a _lot_ , and Yosuke had tried to cook, once (it was for their anniversary, a Valentine’s Day meal, but he’d forgotten to turn down the heat and the oil had exploded all over the wall behind the stove, and… yeah. He stuck to rice and eggs after that.) 

* * *

It was a long, gruelling day. Neither of them were particularly out of shape - they’d gotten very fit fighting through the TV world, and while they didn’t do _that_ any more, they’d more-or-less kept it up with walks and trips to the gym (and other activities that Yosuke wouldn’t talk about in public, but which were very pleasant to think about, remember, and plan for.) Still, kitchen appliances were _heavy_ , especially after a full day prior of moving furniture around, and by the end of the afternoon, both young men were exhausted. 

“ _Uuuggghhh_.” Souji sank down onto the couch next to his boyfriend with a groan, and Yosuke nodded, reaching out to touch his partner’s wrist. 

“I hear ya.” The brunette was nursing a bruised knee; he’d been up on the step stool earlier, and he’d been stretching to reach the last corner above the door when he’d overbalanced and the stool had jerked sideways. He was lucky that Souji had been there to catch him (of course, Yosuke wasn’t exactly _light_ , and Souji had staggered backwards and hit his shoulder on the corner of one of the cabinets) and the brunette had gotten away with only slamming his knee against the doorframe. 

It had been a tense few minutes after that; both partners had stood there, arms around each other, catching their breath and refusing to think about what would have happened if Souji _hadn’t_ been there. Then they’d chastised themselves, kissed each other, and gotten back to work. Souji wouldn’t let Yosuke on the stool again, but with his knee aching, the brunette didn’t really mind that - and somebody had to hold the stool for Souji. They weren’t going to take that risk again.

Still, finishing the day out on an injured knee wasn’t fun, and Yosuke could tell that Souji’s shoulder (luckily it was his off-arm, not his main) was bothering him, and the brunette was just thinking that he should _probably_ get each of them a bottle of water and some pain pills (except that he _really_ didn’t want to get up) when they heard a massive splash, followed by a simultaneous yowl and crash. 

Both men froze, staring at each other with looks of terror - they’d lived with Vasha for long enough to automatically know that 1) she’d gotten into something she shouldn’t have and 2) it was going to be the worst thing possible, in this case, paint. After a split second they were both up off the couch, running for the kitchen. 

“Side-by-side,” Yosuke said, ignoring the pain in his knee. “We haven’t heard her run by, so she’s still in there.”

“Thank god there’s only one exit.”

When they got to the kitchen, they realised that they didn’t need to worry about Vasha running away. The kitten - who’d landed squarely in the paint tray, it looked like, then knocked it over in her terror - was hiding behind the stove, shivering. Yosuke was torn between sympathy and anger; still, he knew that it was their fault for leaving it out, so he really couldn’t be too hard on her. Souji was already down on one knee, trying to coax her out; Yosuke - who winced at the thought of trying to kneel - started for the laundry nook. 

“I’ll get a towel.” 

“Get two. We’ll need to wash her as soon as possible.” Souji’s voice was muffled, but Yosuke could hear him, and he knew his partner was right. Carrying two old-but-clean gym towels back into the kitchen, he tossed one to Souji and then started to dig under the sink. “Mineral oil,” he said, grabbing the bottle. “We’ve still got some left from when I built that new cooling unit for the computer. It gets paint out of hair; I assume it works for fur, too.”

The only response to this was a forlorn yowling as Souji slowly stood up, a bedraggled and almost completely white Vasha wrapped in a towel in his arms. Yosuke ‘tsk’d’ at her, and she yowled again, and Souji shook his head. 

“How did you know- you know what, that’s probably a story for later.”

“One word, man. Teddie.”

“...oh, god.” 

“Yep.” 

* * *

Upstairs in the bathroom, Vasha was even more unhappy; Souji was doing the main bulk of the washing - or rather, the wiping down with oil, the washing would come later - but Yosuke had eased himself into a seated position on a stool so that his knee didn’t scream at him _too_ badly, and he was helping hold the kitten down. The door was locked, but there were still places she could hide, and they didn’t want paint and oil all over their bathroom, too.

Luckily, Yosuke’s trick worked, and eventually all that was left was to wash the oil out of her fur. Yosuke made short work of the old, paint-stained towels while Souji put Vasha through this final indignity; she howled the entire time, and eventually, the silver-haired young man just shook his head.

“I can’t even imagine how folks with toddlers manage. No _thank_  you, a cat is enough.”

The brunette laughed, but the words made him feel sad. _I mean, obviously, it’s okay if neither of us want kids; I don’t, either, really. Not now. But…_ He hid a sigh as he rummaged for a clean towel so that Souji could dry Vasha once she was out; as he did, he remembered a talk he’d overheard between Souji and Rise. 

> “Sennnpai! You’re gonna get married some day, right?”
> 
> “Huh? Where did that come from, Rise? I mean, I guess? It’s not something I’ve thought much about. I mean, I’m fine either way, I suppose.”
> 
> “But what if you and Yosuke-senpai want kids?” 
> 
> Souji had scratched his cheek at this, and Yosuke couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or uncomfortable. “Well, I mean, if we decided to have kids, or adopt or whatever, yeah. I’d say we’d need to get married for that. But I really don’t know if either of us want kids.”

_It didn’t really sound like he wanted any of it._

He knew he was being needlessly morose, and he didn’t want Souji to worry, so he pushed the thought away; it was easy enough, since he was so exhausted, and he put on a tired smile as he handed the towel to Souji. Once Vasha was dry, she bolted off, and they both sighed wearily. 

“How's the mess downstairs?” Souji looked as if he was dreading the truth.

“Eh. It’s not actually as bad as it could have been. There are splashes on the cupboards, but they’re already white, and yeah, there’s a giant puddle on the linoleum, but we were going to replace that anyway, weren’t we?”

“Yeah.” Souji sounded relieved. “Come on. We should go cover it or something or clean up what we can while she’s still hiding under the bed.”

“Uggggh. You’re right. Dammit… being an adult sucks.” Yosuke knew he was whining, but Souji just gave him a smile, and poked his shoulder, and well… they had to get it done whether they wanted to or not, right?

* * *

An hour later and they’d saved the cupboards and cleaned up the puddle as best they could. They’d still need to replace the flooring, but nobody was going to track paint anywhere, and that was the important thing for now. Meaning to take a bath, they’d headed back up to the bedroom, but somehow, both partners had ended up sprawled next to each other on the bed.

“We can’t stay here.” That was Souji.

“I don’t wanna _move_. Ever again.” That was Yosuke. 

There was silence for a bit, and Souji said something else about no really, we _need_ to get up that Yosuke ignored, and he found his eyes closing even as his thoughts drifted.

 _I_ want _to get married._ That thought had been coming more and more frequently, and Yosuke couldn’t ignore it any longer. _Maybe it’s not necessary if we’re not having kids, but… I really want to see Souji in a tux. I want to hear him say I do. I want to promise him that I’ll always be there for him. I mean, I know I can_ always _make that promise, but still…_

“Even if we don’t want kids, we should still get married.”

It wasn’t until Souji’s even breathing hitched and went silent next to him that Yosuke realised - he’d _said it out loud_. His exhaustion eclipsed by pure terror, he sat up, heart in his throat, turning to face Souji; Souji was staring at him with wide eyes and an unexpected blush, and Yosuke _couldn’t_ read his expression no matter how hard he tried, and _shit shit shit shit shit!_

“Shit, partner, fuck, I mean, I didn’t mean it and-”

As Yosuke stammered out a terrified excuse, Souji sat up to face him; it wasn’t until they were both upright that Yosuke realised that a slow smile was spreading across his boyfriend’s face. When the brunette got to the words “I didn’t mean it,” however, the smile dropped, and Souji looked _so sad_ , and…

 _And… that was not the reaction I expected._ Swallowing, the brunette tilted his head. “Uh… Souji?”

Souji was looking down now, and the sadness on his face echoed the same feelings Yosuke had earlier in the bathroom. “You keep dropping all these hints that you don’t want to get married, but when you said that just now, I thought… maybe…”

_What._

Heart in his throat for an entirely different reason now, Yosuke put a hand out, not quite touching Souji, but in his partner's field of vision so he’d look up; when their eyes met, the brunette bit his lip. “I want us to get married _so_ badly, but I just- I didn’t want to seem too eager, and _you_ didn’t seem like you wanted to, and…”

When he trailed off, Souji - with a softly growing smile - shook his head. “Of _course_ I want to, Yosuke! Maybe sometimes we joke about fate, but we’re still the ones who _chose_ to be together. You’re the partner _I_ chose, and that’s never going to change. I’m proud of that, proud of _you_ , and I want the world to know how lucky I am.”

“Souji…” Yosuke wanted to say something, to call Souji a sap, to say that he felt the same way, but he couldn’t; he knew there were tears in his eyes and probably on his cheeks and dammit, he didn’t care. Reaching out, he slid a hand around the back of Souji’s neck, pulling his boyfriend close; they were both smiling by this point, and when Yosuke pressed their foreheads together, Souji leaned in for a kiss that was as slow and sweet as it was languid - they were too exhausted for anything else. 

Finally, Yosuke found his words with a chuckle.

“Man. I really was hoping to make a bigger deal out of it when I proposed. I feel kinda cheated.”

They laughed, and kissed again, but after a moment, Yosuke wrinkled his nose.

“I’m gonna kill the mood a little here, but, uh… partner… you kinda smell.”

Souji made a face at him, letting their foreheads rest together for another moment to show that he wasn’t insulted before pulling back. “You do, too, you know. We need a bath.”

“Uuuggghhh. I’m too tired for this. I was too tired three hours ago.” Yosuke’s body really didn’t want to move, and his knee was _killing_ him, but he was already starting to push himself off the bed. 

Souji gave a tired chuckle. “I’ll draw a bath, you make some instant ramen, we’ll talk about this all later?”

“I’ll bring the noodles up here so that we can eat before we get in, since I get the feeling that we’re going to fall asleep in there, and cold ramen sucks.” 

“Sounds good. I’ll also set an alarm, just in case.”

They inhaled the noodles too quickly to really taste them, and as Yosuke had predicted, they fell asleep in the tub, arms and legs tangled together, but eventually they were dry and in bed. Vasha had forgiven them both as she lay draped across their feet, and as Yosuke felt Souji sleepily blow a strand of brunette hair out of his face (they usually ended up sharing a pillow when they spooned, and Yosuke _did_ need a haircut) he smiled a little to himself.

He was fucking exhausted and he could have done without cat paint demon from hell, but it had been an _amazing_ day.

* * *

The next morning, he was teased awake by the smell of coffee and bread; blinking awake, he saw Souji pulling off his spring jacket, having just placed a large takeout bag on the desk. Turning, he saw the brunette sitting up and smiled.

“Morning, partner. How’s your knee?”

He came over for a kiss, sitting down on the bed as Yosuke slid his legs out from under the blankets, tentatively putting weight on his injured appendage. The eventful evening the prior day hadn’t been _good_ for it, but he’d gotten some ibuprofen and a good sleep, and it wasn’t as bad as he’d been afraid it would be.

“I can walk, at least.”

“Good, although honestly, I was thinking we could just take the day off and relax.” Souji leaned over to kiss Yosuke, and of course Yosuke kissed him back, but before it could heat up, Souji pulled back and smiled again. “How’s that sound?”

“Fucking amazing.” Yosuke stretched, relishing the pop of his back, and smiled back at his boyfriend. “How’s your shoulder? What’s for breakfast?” 

“It’s fine.” Souji chuckled. “Barely even a bruise. I checked. And breakfast is red beans and toast. I got egg salad, too, and coffee.” It was a combination that Yosuke had fallen in love with when they’d visited Nagoya on a trip once, and Souji enjoyed it as well. Yosuke was just celebrating with a fist pump when he realised that Souji’s face had grown serious, although there was still a smile faintly curving his lips. “Before we eat, though, there’s something I want to ask.”

Suddenly, something _important_ teased the edge of Yosuke’s memory, but before the fog could completely clear (the brunette was always a mess before he had his first cup of coffee, even when he was up before dawn) Souji put a hand into his pocket, bringing out a small velvet bag.

“I know this seems sudden, but I really had my eye on this for a while, I just wasn’t sure when the time would be right. But I guess that time is now, so…” Dropping a thin gold band, inlaid with tiger’s eye, onto his palm, he held it out to the brunette. “Marry me, Yosuke?”

At these words, the events of the night before sharpened and Yosuke found himself holding his breath. _It really happened. It wasn’t a dream. Of_ course _Souji managed to get one over on me, damn him for always being so quick to act, but that's our leader…_

He didn’t care, though. It wasn’t a race, and the meaning was _so_ much more important than the wherefores that he just placed his hand over Souji’s, trapping the ring between their palms as he nodded, leaning in. “I said it already, didn’t I? Of course I’ll marry you, Souji.” 

A blissful smile crossed Souji’s face and he met Yosuke halfway for a kiss even as he slid the ring onto the brunette’s finger. When they finally broke apart, he chuckled. “I didn’t want to wait to talk about it, and I was so afraid that I’d dreamed it all and that you’d wonder what the hell I was talking about…”

“Nope. Not a dream.” Wrapping his arms around Souji’s neck, Yosuke pulled him close; the wherefores might not matter as much as the who, but he couldn’t help adding a little dig. “But you’d better remember that I proposed first.”

Their lips were so close by now that the brunette could feel the puff of air as Souji laughed quietly. “Fine, fine, you did. I can’t argue with that. You were half-asleep, but you did propose first.”

Laughter filled the quiet space between them as Yosuke pulled Souji backwards onto the bed; they might have been exhausted the night before, but a glance at the bedside clock would have told them that it was nearer to noon than to dawn, had either of them taken the time to look.

Pulling back for a second, Souji smirked. “I already fed Vasha, by the way. She’s asleep downstairs.”

Yosuke felt himself returning the smirk. “Then we’d better make the most of it.” 

Feeling Souji’s long fingers slide into the hair at the nape of his neck, the brunette sighed, ghosting his lips across his boyfriend’s - no, _fiancé’s_ \- earlobe. 

“I love you, Souji. Partner.” 

“Mmm. I love you, too, Yosuke. Forever.”

Breakfast was going to get cold, but who cared?


	9. Worst. Birthday. Ever.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Yosuke's birthday, but Souji has to work. Surely it's not going to be just another boring day, is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have noticed that this story has become more about Souji and Yosuke and less about Vasha, but I promise she'll be in every chapter... and really, I wouldn't be writing this and no one would be reading it if it wasn't for SouYo. 
> 
> Anyway, I'm sorry I'm late for your birthday, Yosuke, but here you go!

_Worst. Birthday. Ever._

Looking down at his phone - knowing that there wouldn’t be a message alert, since Souji was way too busy - Yosuke sighed, holding onto the subway ring while the car swayed side-to-side. It was a little before noon, which meant the line was packed; wiggling his shoulder to adjust his backpack, the brunette closed his eyes for a moment. It wasn’t _really_ the worst birthday he’d ever had, not by a long shot. But ever since Souji had come into his life things had… picked up, had been pretty amazing, and even when the two were too poor to do anything much, they always spent birthdays together.

Unfortunately, Souji hadn’t been around much for the last few weeks. It wasn’t anything suspicious, but he’d gotten some sort of temporary internship, and it had been keeping him busy. He was still home in time that Yosuke got to see him before bed - and he was now getting up at the same time as the brunette, a feat that Yosuke knew wasn’t easy for him - but between class and this internship, they hadn’t really had time to do anything together since it had started. The one day a week Souji had off, they had to focus on chores; it was mind-boggling how much messier an apartment could get with the addition of a single cat. 

Yosuke wished he’d gone ahead and cancelled his half-day off. He’d originally asked for it before this temporary job came up; Chie and Yukiko had been planning to bring Teddie to town, and they were all going to meet Naoto and Kanji for dinner. Rise was out of town, unfortunately, but she’d already sent Yosuke a birthday card along with some souvenirs from wherever it was that she was currently touring. When Souji had gotten the internship, however, they’d had to cancel; Yosuke still remembered the worry and regret on his partner’s face when he’d come home to tell the brunette about the offer. It was clear that he’d actually been willing to turn it down, but Yosuke _knew_ how important these sorts of things were for a budding lawyer, and he wouldn’t hear anything of the sort. He also remembered the look of relief and appreciation on his boyfriend’s face when he did; Souji had smiled softly and pressed his forehead against Yosuke’s.

“I’ll make it up to you, partner. I promise. As soon as this is over, we’ll take some time for just us. Summer break isn’t too far away… be ready to take some time off, okay?”

Now, all Yosuke could do was wait for that spell of vacation. That small, pessimistic voice inside his head kept asking what he was going to do when his week off was revoked; usually he could ignore those kinds of thoughts, but today… today he let himself wallow. It wasn’t *good*, but… it was his birthday… and he was lonely. Half-an-hour every morning and night to spend with his boyfriend really just wasn’t enough. 

The brunette was feeling thoroughly depressed by the time he finally got home. Opening the front door, he found Vasha waiting for him; Souji’s busy schedule had put her out-of-sorts, too, and he could tell that she missed the silver-haired young man almost as much as he did. Picking her up, Yosuke buried her face against her side with a heavy exhale. 

“It’s just you and me today, cat. Hell. With my luck, I won’t be able to get that week in July off, and then it’ll be just you and Souji. Except, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?” He could feel the kitten purr at this, but he knew better than to think it was any sort of agreement; he’d gotten over his certainty that she hated him, and he knew she was just glad to see him home. “Bah. You just want me to play with you, don’t you?” He grabbed the strip of garishly-coloured-fabric-on-a-stick that he’d brought home from the pet store the week before and she immediately perked up; he set her down before she could scratch him in her eagerness, and the two of them spent a good half-hour playing.

* * *

Yosuke had just finished his shower and was pulling a t-shirt over his head - there was no need to be fancy, after all, when it was just him and the cat - when he heard keys rattle in the front door. Feeling puzzled - Souji should be several hours into his workday by now - he hurried downstairs just in time to see his boyfriend step inside. He was just thinking - _maybe he forgot his lunch_ \- when Souji looked up, smiled, and Yosuke realised that he wasn’t in his work clothes. Then he saw the flowers Souji was holding - a lively bouquet of sunflowers and bright zinnias - and immediately felt himself blushing. 

_He didn’t._

Even after six years everything Souji did still filled Yosuke’s stomach with happy, warm butterflies, and he found himself thinking - for the millionth time - how lucky he was to have met Souji, to have fallen in love with his mild-mannered, silver-haired best friend, and somehow been _enough_ to make Souji fall in love with him, too. It wasn’t just how attractive Souji was, either - although he really was _so hot_ it was unfair - it was just… how comfortable it felt being together. How _right_. Souji really was his best friend and the love of his life rolled into one.

As Yosuke thought this, Souji’s smile widened and he held the flowers out to the brunette as he walked up; Yosuke’s reaction was clearly everything Souji had wanted as he leaned in for a soft kiss. 

“Happy birthday, partner.”

Fingering the slick tissue wrapping in his hands, Yosuke returned the kiss, feeling a bit dazed. “I thought you were supposed to be working?”

At this, Souji chuckled, looking ever-so-slightly guilty. Before Yosuke could worry, however, he shook his head. “I guess I forgot to tell you that the job ended yesterday.”

Blinking, Yosuke felt his eyes widen, and then he had to smile - the tone in his boyfriend’s voice made it more than clear that Souji hadn’t ‘forgotten’ anything. _‘Forgot,’ my ass. We would have celebrated and everything. No, he kept quiet deliberately._

Not that Yosuke was going to complain. 

“Well, good.” The brunette leaned in, meaning to grab another kiss, but Souji was too quick for him. Sidestepping Yosuke with a look that said that if they started that they’d never get anything done - not that Yosuke would have minded - he shook his head and smiled again. “Well, since it’s your birthday, I’m going to treat you to lunch. Go put on something nice.”

“How nice?” Yosuke looked dubious. Sure, he had some nice outfits, but… he hadn’t been expecting to do _anything_ , and he needed a haircut, and- _where were they_ going _, anyway?_

Souji laughed. “Look at me, I’m not in a suit, right?” He was wearing one of his normal polo shirts and brushed cotton jeans; his style really hadn’t changed in the time since Yosuke had first met him, but that was okay - it suited Souji. After a moment, the silver-haired young man chuckled. “You just want me to tell you where we’re going. Of course I’m not going to, that’s why it’s a _surprise_ , Yosuke.”

Yosuke gave a token protest - really, Souji was too good at reading him, but then he’d also learned, pretty well, how to read _Souji_ \- and threw his hands up in mock indignance. “Fine, fine. You got me.” They laughed together, and he handed Souji the bouquet. “Put them in some water, will ya, partner? Make sure to add that flower stuff you bought, I wanna make sure they last a while. I’ll go get changed.”

“Of course.” Souji glowed a little at this - it was easy to see how glad he was that Yosuke loved his flowers (and he did) - and Yosuke found himself humming as he ran upstairs to throw on something nicer than his around-the-house clothes. It didn’t take him too long - he _had_ just taken a shower - and when he came back downstairs Souji was just setting the flowers out, in their best vase, in the centre of the table. When he saw the brunette, he smiled.

“Shall we?”

Yosuke couldn’t help but grin. “We shall.”

* * *

Yosuke was pretty sure there wasn’t a recipe that Souji _couldn’t_ make, but his boyfriend’s specialty was definitely Japanese food, so when they wanted something international, they usually went out. While they didn’t do it often - they were mindful of splurges and Souji enjoyed cooking - it was a nice change from time to time. This was one of those days, and they had lunch at Yosuke’s favourite Italian bistro, spending the time filling each other in on all the little things that had been happening over the last few weeks that they’d been too tired to share each night. It felt kind of like a date back when they’d first started going out; it was amazing what a little time apart could do - although routine was _just fine_ with Yosuke if the alternative was to have to miss his partner as much as he had for the last several weeks.

Souji was halfway through his tiramisu (Yosuke had already devoured his, but the brunette always ate his desserts quickly, no matter how often Souji raised an eyebrow at him) when Yosuke leaned back in his chair and stretched. “Man, that was great, Souj. Thanks.” He gave his boyfriend a smile and was about to suggest that they head back to the apartment and spend some quality time together when Souji gave him another one of those gentle smiles that brought back the butterflies, and nodded.

“I’m glad. I hope you don’t mind, I’ve got a few other things planned for this afternoon.”

“More? Damn, partner. You didn’t have to go all out, you know?” Yosuke couldn’t help feeling a little pleased, though. He’d missed Souji _so_ much, and had been _so_ disappointed that they’d had to give up their plans, that this really made him happy. At his words, Souji just chuckled.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to, so I did.” He propped his chin on his hand. “You ready to go?”

“Heck yeah, let’s see what you’ve got planned next!”

Their next stop was the aquarium. Yosuke was a beach boy, and while aquariums weren’t _quite_ the beach they were the next best thing, and he loved them. Souji enjoyed them too, although Yosuke always had a sneaking suspicion that he loved watching the brunette’s reaction more than the actual aquarium - but that in itself made him feel warm inside, and he squeezed his boyfriend’s hand with a happy feeling in his heart. Sometimes he wondered just how he’d gotten so lucky.

By the time they made it out of the building - Yosuke knew that Souji loved to watch the river otters, so he made sure they spent a while there, and it _was_ always fun to see the young ones playing around - the sun was low on the horizon; they stopped on a bridge that overlooked the bay and Yosuke stretched before leaning in. 

“You’re the best boyfriend ever, you know that?” He gave Souji a long, lingering kiss and was just sliding his hand up into his soft silver hair when Souji smiled against his lips and pulled back.

“I don’t know, I think you’re the best - that’s why I did this, you know? It’s your birthday and I wanted to show you how much you mean to me.” The look in his eyes was something Yosuke knew he’d never get tired of, and the brunette took his partner’s hand. 

“We should head back… it’s getting close to dinner, and I’m sure Vasha’s gonna get upset if we feed her too late.” Souji nodded at this, looking quickly at his phone; he’d been paying more attention to it than usual the whole afternoon, but Yosuke hadn’t paid it much mind, since he was too busy being happy.

As they strolled from the subway station to their apartment, hand-in-hand, Yosuke moved closer to his boyfriend, starting to rub his thumb against Souji’s palm as he thought about what he wanted to do when they got back to the apartment. Instead of responding with his usual shiver and and side-glance, however, Souji just gave the brunette a warm smile, squeezing his hand; Yosuke felt a little bummed that his subtle attempt to be suggestive didn’t work, but Souji - who could read the brunette’s every mood, every worry - shook his head and leaned in for a kiss right before they got onto the elevator. 

“Mmmm. Don’t forget we’ve still got dinner ahead, partner. That being said, hold that thought for later because I really like where you were going with it.” He winked, and Yosuke blinked, wondering what exactly Souji meant by ‘still having dinner’; opening the apartment door, he almost had a heart attack when the lights suddenly came on and all of their friends (sans Rise) jumped up from behind different pieces of furniture, shouting “Happy Birthday!”

“What the hell?” Yosuke was always wont to freak out a little when surprised, but he’d mellowed in the years since high school, and his shock soon faded. When it did, he realised that the apartment was decorated in streamers, and there was a nice potluck spread on the table, as well as a rather large cake, which he recognised as being from his favourite bakery. 

Teddie, as usual, threw himself at Yosuke, arms out. “Yoooosuke! It’s been too long! Mom and Dad sent their best wishes, they want you and Sensei to come back to visit!”

Yosuke, of course, hugged his little brother, ruffling his hair; looking around at the group, he shook his head. “You guys- I thought-?”

“You already know by now that Souji is a sneaky one,” Naoto said, chuckling as she handed a key back to the silver-haired young man, who took it with a smile. “None of us actually cancelled our plans, he just let you think we had so it would be a surprise.”

“Souji…” Yosuke glanced at his boyfriend, and a silent look of fondness passed between the two. For all that Yosuke was happy to see his friends - more than happy, he was always in his element when everyone was together - he almost wished, just for a moment, that he had Souji alone to show his boyfriend his gratitude. They’d have time later, however; for now, he was going to enjoy his surprise party.

Chie, of course, saw the look that passed between them - sometimes it seemed that she was one of the most observant of the group, even if she wasn’t always the first one to understand what she’d noticed - and made her customary fake gagging noises; it was all in good nature these days, however, and she joined the others in crowding Yosuke to hug him and wish him a happy birthday. 

“Good timing, though! We just got the summer part-timers trained at the inn, so it was the perfect chance for Yukiko and I to take a little vacation! We’re gonna explore the big city tomorrow, I can’t wait!” 

“Uh huh. Shoulda known you’d never come just to see _me_.” Chie stuck her tongue at him as Yukiko came up to give him a hug, as well. 

“You know better, Yosuke-kun. She’s been talking all week about wanting to see you, and Souji-kun, and Naoto-kun, and Kanji-kun, and- wait, where _is_ Kanji?”

“He’s behind the couch, with Vasha.” Souji was pouring drinks as he said this; everybody looked over to see Kanji’s dark head pop up from behind the couch, looking a little dishevelled, and the young man - no longer a punk, now a respectable clothing designer that lived with Naoto - looked chagrined.

“But she’s so soft! And I think we scared her, makin’ as much noise as we did. Hey, happy birthday, dude.” 

“Thanks, man.” Yosuke smiled at the sight, and - with Teddie still hanging off his arm - looked around at his friends. “All right, well - food looks great, since I can tell it was delivered and that Chie didn’t cook it, so let’s eat!” 

Chie, of course, gave him a good-natured arm-smack at this, and everybody laughed, and Kanji joined them at the table, and it wasn’t ten minutes before a loud meow startled everyone and they looked down to see Vasha, standing at Kanji’s foot and begging. Kanji, of course, almost had a fit over how cute she was - Souji and Yosuke just sighed and told him not to let her trick him - and by the end of the meal Yosuke would have sworn that she’d eaten as much as any of them. 

* * *

After dinner came presents - mostly odds-and-ends, but that was the way things went now that everybody was an adult - and once presents were over, they spent a good couple of hours playing board games; Teddie (unsurprisingly) was a huge fan and had a collection that he loved to take with him everywhere he went. 

Eventually, the evening wound down, and as everyone got ready to go, Yosuke (who’d been a little worried that Teddie was going to be staying with him and Souji - not that he’d have minded, exactly, but he really wanted to give Souji a token of his thanks) found out that Kanji and Naoto had volunteered to let the younger boy stay with them this trip. They were the first to leave, followed shortly by Chie and Yukiko (everyone made plans to meet up for lunch again before the girls and Teddie had to return to Inaba). 

When the door closed, Souji didn’t even have a chance to open his mouth to say anything before Yosuke had him by the front of his shirt, pulling him in for a long, deep kiss. Souji gave a startled gasp but wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the brunette as Yosuke worked his fingers into the soft silver hair he loved so much. He was tempted just to take Souji then and there, but that was the nice thing about having their own place; they could spare an extra five minutes to get to the bedroom, and he was already tugging his partner towards the stairs when they finally broke apart, panting for breath. Souji had the best unfocused, _blissful_ expression on his face - seriously, it made Yosuke want him that much more each time he saw it - and he gave a breathless laugh when they separated. 

" _Damn_ , partner."

Yosuke just smirked. “Have I told you lately how much I love you? Today’s been amazing, Souj.”

They’d made it up their bedroom by that point, and the brunette was surprised to see an answering smirk cross Souji’s face. “I never mind hearing it again, but you know, partner… it’s not over yet.” Yosuke didn’t even have time to wonder what he meant by this when he felt himself being pushed backwards onto the bed; in a flash Souji was on top of him, his weight provocative enough to make the brunette’s head spin, especially when he felt lips at his neck and a hand sliding up under his shirt. His boyfriend almost _never_ took charge like this, but Yosuke loved every second when he did. As he found his wrists being pinned down, he gave a long, shuddering sigh.

“Oh, god, Souji, I don’t know what I did to deserve you but-” He interrupted himself with a shaky moan, and Souji laughed.

“You’re just yourself - nothing more and nothing less.” As he pushed Yosuke’s shirt up over his head, kissing every inch of skin as it was exposed, he trailed his lips up to the brunette’s ear in time to give the lobe a gentle nip. “I love you, and there are neither words nor actions enough for me to explain how much.”

Hands still tied up (not literally, although he wouldn’t have minded if they were) all Yosuke could do was writhe, moaning Souji’s name; each time he did a smile flitted across Souji’s lips, and Yosuke slowly felt himself drowning in the pleasure. 

Neither of them spoke again for quite some time.

* * *

Several hours later they were laying in bed, and Yosuke felt so tired - in the best of ways - that he didn’t ever want to move again. Souji was draped across his chest, head in exactly the right spot for Yosuke to stroke his hair, idling running his fingers through it. The brunette had just given a wide yawn when Souji echoed it, pushing himself up to reach over and grab something off their bedside table. When he handed it to Yosuke, the brunette realised that it was a card-sized envelope. Rubbing his eyes, he took it, then looked at his boyfriend.

“Huh? Souji, you’ve already done so much for me today-”

Souji gave him a hesitant smile, and Yosuke bit back the rest of his comment; he knew that spoiling the people he cared about - Nanako and Yosuke, and to an extent his uncle and their friends - was one of his boyfriend’s real passions, no matter how often they argued that he didn’t need to. Opening the envelope, Yosuke was just about to say something offhand when he realised that the paper inside the card was a folded plane itinerary for a short week in Okinawa. Eyes wide, he looked over. 

“Souji, what-?”

His boyfriend was rubbing his neck with a sheepish smile. “Well… I didn’t exactly tell you everything about that internship. They didn’t offer it to me, I applied - because it was paid.” He nodded at the card, and Yosuke involuntarily held it to his chest.

_Souji took that job just for this?_

Before he could say anything, Souji reached out and put his hands over Yosuke’s, as if knowing what the brunette was thinking. “It was amazing experience, Yosuke. I’m not saying I’m guaranteed a job there when I graduate, but it puts me a lot closer. A _lot_ closer. And, well… I know we can’t get married until I’m out of school, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a little celebratory trip, you know?”

Words didn’t exist for Yosuke to tell Souji how much he loved him, so he let his eyes speak for him, knowing that his partner would know how to read them. “Like a pre-honeymoon, huh?”

“Yeah, like that.” Souji smiled, leaning in to rest their foreheads together. “And I know you’ve been dreaming about a beach vacation, so…”

 _Of course he knew._ Leaning in, Yosuke gave Souji a kiss, hoping his lips could express what his words could not. Hand on his boyfriend’s cheek, he pulled back and smiled, lips so close that he could feel Souji’s breath against them. 

“I know I keep saying this, but you’re the best boyfriend _ever_. I love you _so_ much.”

Souji smiled, cheeks pink, and with it, Yosuke knew the wordless message had reached his boyfriend. “I’m glad. I love you, too, Yosuke. Sometimes I find it hard to believe you love me as much as you do… and I don’t ever want you to think I take it for granted.”

Yosuke laughed a little breathlessly at this and they were halfway into another long, very enjoyable kiss when a thought occurred to him, and he pulled back. “Vasha. What are we going to do with her for a week? I guess we could ask Rise to look after her…” He stopped when Souji shook his head, smiling.

“The plane ride will be interesting, but… we’ve got a little cottage to ourselves, and it allows pets. It’s not _quite_ on the beach, because I couldn’t afford that, but-”

“But _nothing_ , oh my god, you’re amazing, partner! You’re going to spoil me completely if you keep this up!”

“That _is_ the plan,” Souji said, his voice mild - but his smile said that he was just as happy as Yosuke at that moment. “Besides, wait to let me know how you feel about everything _after_ we’ve had a two-and-a-half-hour plane ride with Vasha.”

Not even that prospect could dampen Yosuke’s spirits. Their next kiss was slow and languid - as much as he would have loved to go for round two (or was it round three? He was losing track, always a good sign) he was falling asleep and he could see the telltale droop in Souji’s eyelids that said his partner was just as tired as he was. The brunette was just pulling his boyfriend into his arms when he felt the bed shift, and although he braced himself for the usual “ _Nyyyaaaa!_ ”, he was pleasantly surprised when all Vasha did was chirp and bump her head against his knee. 

“Even Vasha says it’s bedtime,” he said, yawning even as he tried to laugh. His yawn rubbed off on Souji, who followed suit and nodded; as much as they would have liked to have just gone to sleep, though, they forced themselves to get up and get a shower and go through their usual bedtime routine. 

It didn’t take long, at least, and as Vasha curled up on her usual spot on the end of the bed (it was too warm for her to drape herself across their feet) the two rearranged themselves into their usual sleeping positions. With Souji’s arms around him, Yosuke snuggled into his pillow, feeling exhausted but happy; he was too tired to think about it now, but he made a mental note to figure out something just as awesome - or moreso - for Souji’s birthday. At least it was a few months off; he had time.

One sleepy thought flitted through his head as he drifted to sleep.

_Best. Birthday. Ever._


	10. Celebration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a struggle to make ends meet recently, but Yosuke gets a welcome - and well-deserved - surprise at work. What's the first thing he does? Why, spoil Souji (and Vasha), of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just got a raise at work today, and wanted to let the boys celebrate it for me.

Hands shaking, Yosuke stared at the piece of paper he’d just been given. The amount written on it was half again as much as his current salary; even as the numbers swam across his vision he could see all of the troubles and difficult decisions they’d been having to make recently disappearing around him, like mist in the sun. They wouldn’t be rich - by any means - but he’d no longer have to worry about what they’d do if Souji’s migraines started to come back and he needed to see a specialist again, or if Yosuke got sick and had to take a week off work. 

_Or if Vasha gets herself stuck under the flooring again._

_That_ had been a fun weekend.

Best of all, it meant that they could start saving for their wedding. As Yosuke looked up, his eyes wide (and shining, but he wasn’t going to let himself tear up, not at work), his supervisor nodded.

“You’re one of our best, Hanamura. You’ve done well in your new position, and we wanted to make sure you're taken care of. You’ll see the increase in today’s paycheck.”

After thanking the man profusely, Yosuke clocked out - it’d been time to go home an hour ago, but his supervisor had called him into his office as he was getting his things ready to go - and as he headed for the elevator, he paused to think. Souji wouldn’t be home for another few hours - he had afternoon lectures. Tonight was movie night, so they’d probably order pizza - there was a small place in the bottom of their apartment building that had day-of-the-week specials, which was why they’d picked that night for their ‘splurge night’ - but… Yosuke had just gotten a raise. 

_Why not celebrate?_ He checked his bank app on his phone, and his eyes widened. They really _had_ given him that much of a raise, and the number he was looking at was nothing short of beautiful. _Yeah_ , he was going to celebrate. Nothing too over-the-top, but dammit… they deserved something nice. Instead of heading all the way down to the basement level, which linked up with the subway, Yosuke decided to pay a visit to some of the upper floors. His first stop was the optometrist; Souji’s glasses had broken a month back, and with unexpected bills (vet and school, to name a few) the only thing Yosuke had been able to do for him for his birthday was get the old pair repaired. But now… now he could get the handsome pair of silver frames he’d been eyeing. They had Souji’s prescription on file. 

Once he’d put in the order - they had the lenses, it would just be a half-hour to cut them and fit them - he headed for the next floor down, picking up a basket. It was the household sundries floor, and he headed straight for the back wall (it helped that he worked here, so he knew the floors inside-out). Their window fan had gotten to the point where they had to hang the cord _just right_ to get it to work, and in the hotter months it felt like it wasn’t running at all. The brunette didn’t go for the most expensive one - no, he knew better, expensive didn’t mean best and he wasn’t going to over-splurge, either - but he picked a nice solid one on sale that had great reviews and never got returned to the store. From there, he picked out a humidifier - the air quality in Tokyo _sucked_ , and between Souji’s headaches and Yosuke’s tendency to get sick whenever he had to pull weeks of overnighters, they’d both talked about wanting to get one the next time they had some “mad money.”

Well, that time was now.

By the time he was ready to go, he had far too much for the subway. The glasses were safely tucked away in his bag, but he had the fan, the humidifier, a bottle of champagne, some sushi and a cake, catnip mice- and a bouquet of flowers. Maybe it was silly, but… well, Souji had been studying really hard, lately. And Yosuke still felt bad about not being able to celebrate his fiancé’s birthday the way he’d wanted to, especially after the amazing birthday Souji had given _him_. They hadn’t even taken their vacation yet, because they’d received a rain check on the first date due to a tropical storm, and recently, with money being tight… well, the rain check was good for a while yet, at least.

Since the subway was out of the question, Yosuke made his last splurge of the day and hailed a cab. The amount of time saved by not having to wait for the right train, ride it through three wards, and walk to their apartment would make up for the time he’d spent shopping, and that would give him enough time to get the apartment set up before Souji got home. Honestly, he was getting more and more excited; it had been a long time since he’d been able to do anything nice for his partner (short of doing extra chores or making dinner, but those didn't _count_.)

The sushi and champagne went into the fridge, Vasha got one of her mice (which immediately went _under_ the fridge), and the new fan wasn’t too difficult to set up in the window. The humidifier was one of those new ultrasonic filterless ones, with an essential oil tray, and although it took him a little bit of time to find the breathe-easy oils Souji had bought when Yosuke had been really sick one winter, eventually the relaxing scent of chamomile and lavender began to fill the bedroom. 

Looking at the clock, Yosuke saw that it was nearing time for Souji to get home; he’d already sent the brunette his usual “I’m out of class” text, and there was just enough time to get everything else set up in the time it would take Souji to make the trek from the station to their apartment. Yosuke was just setting out the sushi - leaving the lid on, of course, because _Vasha_ \- when he heard his partner’s key in the door. Reaching into the sink, Yosuke grabbed the bouquet that had been resting in some shallow water, and waited near the table, feeling excited. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on Souji’s face.

“I’m home.” His fiancé’s tired voice came from the door, where he divested himself of shoes and messenger bag. Yosuke, of course, called out a greeting - Vasha ran to meet him at the door, meowing loudly, as always - and after taking a moment to greet the kitten, Souji came around the corner. 

“I’m going to assume you already fed-”

As Yosuke expected, his fiancé stopped dead when he got to the dining room, an expression of confusion on his face. “Welcome home, partner. How was class?” The brunette stepped forward, holding out the flowers. They were just red roses, and maybe roses were stereotypical but- well, Souji _liked_ roses. And roses meant love.

A surprised blush came across Souji’s face; he took the flowers slowly, looking down at them. Softly touching the petals, he shook his head. “Class was fine. What-” He looked up. “What’s going on?” 

The brunette had expected this response, too. Souji was nothing if not practical, and Yosuke knew that their recent financial troubles had been weighing heavily on his partner’s mind. 

“It’s a celebration.”

“A celebration?” Souji looked upset at this. “Yosuke, we just had that talk. You know we can’t afford anything like-”

“Souji.” With a smile, Yosuke took the carefully-folded piece of paper he’d received that afternoon from his pocket, pressing it into his fiancé’s hand. Stopping in the middle of his sentence, Souji looked down, eyes skimming the words - and then he stopped. Mouth opening - not quite a jaw drop, but still - he looked back up to the top, this time carefully reading the sheet. Once he was done, his head jerked up and he stared at the brunette.

“Yosuke. Is this- guaranteed?”

“It is.” Taking it, Yosuke tucked it back into his pocket, then reached for Souji’s hand, the one not holding the bouquet. “It started in today’s paycheck.” 

“Yosuke…” Squinting, as if trying not to cry, but unable to cover his face because one hand was full of flowers and the other was held firmly in Yosuke’s grasp, Souji shook his head. “Yosuke, I’m so happy for you. I’m so proud of you!” Finally looking to the side, he laid the bouquet on the table before wrapping his now-free arm around his lover’s shoulders. When Yosuke returned the hug, Souji freed his other arm and used it to pull the brunette closer, resting their cheeks together. 

“You’ve been working so hard since uni, you’ve deserved this for a long time.” His voice was quiet, and his words made Yosuke glow with pride. Even though they were a long way from the riverbank, from the time when Yosuke felt inferior to Souji, felt like he needed to spend all of his time proving himself, he still loved it when his partner praised him. Still, he _knew_ Souji’s tone of voice, and because he knew what it meant, he pulled back so that they could look into each other’s eyes.

As expected, Souji looked downcast. “My tuition…”

“ _We_ deserve this,” Yosuke said, firmly. As Souji started to shake his head, the brunette put both hands on his fiancé’s shoulders. “Yes, _we_. You’ve been busting your ass studying, and I know part-time tutoring work isn’t easy. We’re in this together, okay? Besides.” He smirked a little; this was something he’d been teasing Souji about for a while. “Souji Seta, Esq. is going to be making a lot more money than Associate Department Supervisor Yosuke Hanamura. You can take care of _me_ once you get your degree and your license.”

His lover’s lips twitched at this, and after a moment, Souji started to chuckle. “All right, all right, you’ve made your point.” His arm was still wrapped around the brunette's torso, and he turned to pick up the flowers, inhaling their scent deeply.

“Roses. You didn’t have to, you know?”

“I didn’t, but I wanted to.” Yosuke met Souji’s eyes with a smile on his lips. “Your birthday was too small, you know. No protestations, I remember what you did for mine.” When Souji sighed and smiled, the brunette continued, looking satisfied. “And so we have sushi, cake, and champagne. And Vasha has catnip mice.”

“Already buried beneath the appliances, I assume?”

“Of course.” They laughed and Souji looked around.

“A new fan? That’s going to be wonderful this weekend. We’re supposed to have a heat wave.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Looking proud again, the brunette grinned. “And on top of that, I got us a humidifier. It’s even got one of those scented oil trays.”

“I was wondering why I smelled lavender.” Still standing with his arm around Yosuke, Souji sighed happily, leaning his head on his partner’s shoulder. “Yosuke, it’s wonderful. We’ll have a nice feast while we watch our movie.” 

“Mmmhmm.” Humming happily, Yosuke wrapped both arms back around Souji’s waist and pulled his lover close. “And after that, we’ll see how comfortable the bedroom is, since the humidifier’s been going for a few hours.”

Souji gave a low chuckle, a quiet sound that always thrilled Yosuke’s heart. “I do believe that sounds like a wonderful idea.” 

Although dinner was ready, neither of them seemed too eager to separate; they hadn’t had a whole lot of time to just relax in one another’s company recently, and they were both feeling so light-hearted that it felt good to just stand there, together. Finally, after a few minutes, Yosuke turned his head to kiss Souji’s forehead.

“You know what else? We should go ahead and start planning again for that trip we were going to take.”

“What, to Okinawa?” Souji looked surprised, raising his head. “Now that you mention it, we should. Maybe during fall break? It’ll be crowded, but the weather will still be good.”

Vasha chose this moment to jump up onto the chair closest to the table; she leaned up to sniff the sushi container, and Yosuke had to reach out with a foot and nudge her off the chair. 

“That’s not for you, cat.”

The kitten gave a disgruntled meow, but she clearly held no grudges as she hurriedly bathed the spot on her side that Yosuke’s foot had touched, smoothing it down before standing to wander over, twining between their legs. She meowed again, and Souji laughed.

“See? Vasha’s looking forward to the trip, too.” 

“Mmm. Well, I’m more interested in having you to myself in a beach-front paradise. Vasha can entertain herself.” When the brunette leaned in to kiss Souji, his partner laughed again before returning it. 

“I’m sure she will. As, I’m sure, will we. And we should eat our sushi before it gets warm.”

Yosuke grumbled at this, but he knew his fiancé was right. He hadn’t even had a chance to give Souji his new glasses; that would come later, maybe after dinner. An armful of cheerful Souji went a long way towards placating him, anyway, and he smiled as they sat down, side-by-side. 

Besides, they had all night to celebrate. 


End file.
